Yu Gi Oh! The Bonds of Brotherhood
by KitCloudkicker52885
Summary: Atem and Yugi Muto participates in the Duelist Kingdom Tournament in order to rescue their Grandpa from Pegasus. The Muto Brothers set out with their friends to Pegasus' island where they have to battle their way into Pegasus' castle.
1. Episode One

**Narrator: **_**Long ago, when the pyramids were still young; Egyptian kings played a game of great and terrible power—**_

**Kaiba: **_HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!_

_We are NOT doing this same old Egyptian fairy tale! Let's skip over to the present time, where there are two brothers, twins to be exact, Atem and Yugi Muto. There will be no two-souls-sharing-one-body nonsense in this story, but there are Millennium Items. _

**Narrator**_**: Very well… In the present, twin brothers, Atem and Yugi, are the last living descendants of the great King Yami, whom Atem greatly resembles. King Yami saved the world five millenniums ago and now… with the Shadow Games returning, it's time for Atem, his little brother Yugi, along with their friends, to take up the cards and finish what the Great Pharaoh started, five thousand years ago….**_

Yu-Gi-Oh! The Bonds of Brotherhood

**Series' theme song: **_**One Card Short.**_

_Life's just a game. We all wanna win._

_Keep your hand a secret, unleash the monsters within!_

_Sometimes it's over before it's even begun._

_If someone else gets hurt then, what have you really won?_

_I'm always one card short, always one day late!_

_For once I'd like an ending I can celebrate._

_Stacked the deck myself, so there's no one else to blame._

_I need just one more move, one final chance to prove_

_I can win this game._

_Life's just a duel, that's how the world is made._

_But are we really players, or are we being played?_

_I'm always one card short, always one day late!_

_For once I'd like an ending I can celebrate._

_Stacked the deck myself, so there's no one else to blame._

_I need just one more move, one final chance to prove_

_I can win this game._

_One card short, one day late!_

_Give me somethin', somethin' to celebrate!_

_Stacked the deck myself so there's no one else to blame._

_One more move I'm gonna win this game._  
><em>I'm gonna win this game.<em>  
><em>I'm gonna win this game!<em>  
><em>One more move, I'll win this game.<em>

* * *

><p><strong>Episode One: The Skillful Dark Magician vs. The Blood Curdling Blue-Eyes White Dragon<strong>

* * *

><p>At Domino High School during break, Yugi Muto was playing a friendly game of Duel Monsters with his best friend Joey Wheeler.<p>

"It's your turn, Joey." Yugi stated, smiling pleasantly as he waited for Joey to make his move.

A taller, more-mature-looking Yugi by the name of Atem Muto was sitting between the two Duelists, watching the game with an air of interest. He likes to sit back, watch and see how his younger brother is progressing in his Dueling skills from time to time.

Joey sat there with his game face on; studying his hand—which looked a little painful on Joey's face, he looks as though thinking alone was giving him headaches.

Then Tristan came up and put an arm around Joey's neck.

"Hey, whatcha doing, Joey?" he asked.

"Don't tell me you don't know about Duel Monsters." Joey said smugly, but deep down, he was really annoyed.

"What's that?" asked Tristan.

"Quiet!" Joey said, now seriously annoyed as he shoved Tristan off. "Sit back and watch."

Tristan stumbled back and stood next to a girl called Téa. "Sheese!" he said.

"They've been at for hours," Téa said, "Joey's getting the hang of the game, but Yugi's like an expert."

"Actually, they've been at it for three minutes, Téa." Atem said, looking up at her. Then he turned his attention back to the game before him. "They only have a five-minute time limit on this Duel, and they only have two minutes left until break time is over."

"Oh…" Téa said, staring intensely at Atem and she blushed as she did sometimes when Atem speaks to her. _Look at him… He's such a hottie! _She thought with a dreamy expression. _It's funny how Atem and Yugi are twins; Atem looks a few years older and a foot taller… He's the hot one while Yugi's the cute one… _

"Alright, I'm ready, let's battle!" Joey said, playing Kagemusha of the Blue Flame (800 ATK) in attack position.

"You see," Téa said in explanation, mostly for Tristan's benefit. "Each monster has an attack number and a defense number. First player to eliminate his opponent's life points wins the Duel."

"Alright Yugi, it's your turn." Joey said with such self-confidence, that one would think he'd already won the Duel.

"That's pretty good move, Joey," Atem said encouragingly, he and Yugi both wanted Joey to get into this game, thinking it would do him some good. "But what do you have to back your monster up?"

"Huh?" Joey was puzzled, he look down at the Dueling mat and then at his hand. "What'd ya mean, Atem?"

Atem didn't say anything, but sighed as he decided to let Joey learn from his coming defeat. From experience, you learn after all…

Yugi smiled like a small child on Christmas morning as he replied: "Okay, my turn, huh? How about this one…" and he played Blackland Fire Dragon (1500 ATK) in attack position. "Attack!"

"WHAT?" Joey exclaimed. "You threw out that card like it was nothing. A strong card like that ends my game right there!"

"It's too weak, Joey." Téa said.

"Face it, you really stink at this game." Tristan stated, unintentionally attacking Joey's self-esteem again.

"He did fine for his first time, Tristan." Atem said. "But keep in mind that Joey is playing with a Starter Deck and Yugi is playing with modified Starter Deck, so he's got some stronger cards than what you'd get out of a regular Starter Deck."

"Oh," was all Tristan could say.

"Yep," said Yugi. "and our Grandpa owns his own game shop and we get all our best cards from him."

"But what if he has a card that you both want?" asked Téa.

"Then we Duel for it and the winner gets it." Yugi said. "But Atem plays like a super-pro; I haven't been able to beat him once!"

"I'm sure if you keep on playing to improve your Dueling skills, you'll beat me someday." Atem told his little brother kindly.

"Yeah?" Joey said "After class, let's go over to your place."

"Okay, and maybe I could get Grandpa to show us his super-rare card he's got."

In the dark corner of the classroom, Seto Kaiba glanced over at them from over the top of his textbook, thinking: _Rare card? Could they have found the card I've been searching for?_

After school, Atem and Yugi brought their three friends to their Grandpa's small game shop.

"Hey Gramps, we're home!" called Yugi.

"I see you two brought some friends today," Solomon Muto said, smiling pleasantly as the five of them approach the counter.

They all gathered around Grandpa at the counter. Atem, being a natural-born leader, stepped up to him.

"Grandpa, our friends would like to see your greatest card." Atem stated in a kind and respectful tone.

"Oh, you mean _that_ card… Hmm…" Grandpa said, pretending to think it over.

Atem nodded and replied. "Yes, please."

"Please!" Yugi added, clapping his hands together as though praying.

Atem chuckles in amusement at his younger brother's childish behavior.

"Please show me," Joey added with a respectful bow.

Grandpa laughed. "Oh, how can I say no?" he took out a special collector's card case. "I don't take this out often…it's my treasure….and Atem's got his eye on this card," he said, glancing sideway at his elder grandson, who was eying the card in the case with longing. "Here it is," he said, holding the card up. "This is Blue-Eyes White Dragon. This is one super ultra-rare card!"

They were all very impressed with this card, including Atem, but Tristan who never really understood the value of cards, remains unimpressed as he made a grab for the card, but Atem, with amazing reflexes, seized Tristan's wrist to stop him from grabbing a priceless card unceremoniously.

"Don't touch, just look." Atem told him firmly, releasing his grip on Tristan's wrist.

"Right… Sorry." Tristan said, massaging his wrist. "But it doesn't look all that special to me…"

Grandpa held the card as though it were his newborn son. "This card is priceless! There are only four of them in the entire world!"

"Alright, I'll buy it!" Joey said, grinning.

Grandpa held his card to his chest. "I can't sell this!"

"Huh?" said Joey, looking slightly confused and then he smiled. "Nah, I couldn't afford that card anyway… I mean show me some other cool cards ta get me started."

Just then, the door opened and Seto Kaiba stood there. Everyone turned to see who was coming into their game shop.

"Kaiba," Atem said in slight surprise.

For some reason, Kaiba looks surprised to see Atem there too.

"Pharaoh, what are you doing in a dump like this?" Kaiba asked, looking around the shop with distaste.

"Pharaoh?" asked Téa, looking over at Atem for an explanation.

Everyone was looking at Atem now.

"It's a name I go by whenever I enter a Duel Monsters Tournament." Atem explained. He turned to Kaiba, who was in front of them now, having walked further into the shop during the exchanges. "And to answer your question, Kaiba; I live here. Now what do you want?"

It was clear to those around them that Atem and Kaiba are natural rivals; each considers the other their most fierce opponent in the game of Duel Monsters.

"I guess this is where you get such weak cards." Kaiba smirked. "So, does this store have any worthwhile cards lying around?" It was then that he spotted the Blue-Eyes White Dragon. He ran forward, shoving Joey out of the way. "How the Blue-Eyes White Dragon end up in a place like this?" _I never thought I'd lay eyes on the real article!_

Grandpa shut the card case with a snap and said: "Time to put it away. This one is not for sale. Is there anything else I can help you with?"

Kaiba glared at him, and then he swung his brief case onto the counter and opened it, to reveal a bunch of rare cards.

"Old man, I'll trade you all the cards here for the Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"

All but Atem and Grandpa were impressed.

"But Kaiba, you've already got three Blue-Eyes in your Deck." Atem said. "What would you need this one for? Are you planning on building a spare deck with one Blue-Eyes in it?"

"Mind your own business; this is between me and the old man, so butt out!" Kaiba snapped

"This 'old man' is my Grandpa," Atem said, looking ready to _Duel_ Kaiba on the spot. "And this is my home, so show some respect or I'll show you the door."

"That's quite enough, Atem." Grandpa said firmly and Atem wisely fell silence. "Haven't I taught you that you must earn respect, not demand it?"

"Yes, you have. Sorry, Grandpa." Atem said meekly.

Kaiba laughed. "No wonder you go under the name 'Pharaoh' when you enter a Duel Monsters tournament! Atem? What a joke!"

Atem glared. "Kaiba, do not push me," he warned in a low and fierce voice.

"Atem," Grandpa said warningly. Again Atem fell respectfully silence and Grandpa addressed Kaiba. "Mr. Kaiba, this card is not for sale or for trade. This card was given to me by a dear friend, and so I hold this card with as much value as I do my friend. And since you insulted my grandson, you can get out of my shop, boy. No matter what I was offered, I can never part with this card!"

"What did you say?" yelled Kaiba, looking horrified for some odd reason.

"You'd feel the same even if it were a weak card, right Gramps?" asked Yugi, completely oblivious to Kaiba's inner turmoil.

"Exactly," said Grandpa. "A treasure valued this much has a heart of its own."

Kaiba stood there, enraged. His fist shaking, then he slammed his brief case shut.

"I've heard enough, thanks." he said, exiting the shop. "Senile old fool!"

During the ride to Kaiba Corporation, Kaiba sat in the dark back seat, plotting to get his hands on the last Blue-Eyes.

_Cards have hearts? That's ridiculous! Cards have power, nothing else! I will get that card for myself, just wait and see! _

The next morning, Grandpa had just opened his shop for the day when three men in dark suits entered. The shortest of the three stepped forward so that the two taller men stood behind him like body guards.

"My master, Seto Kaiba challenges you to a Duel," he said. "You will come with us."

"And if I were… to decline?" Grandpa asked politely.

The short man's sunglasses flashed ominously as he replies: "We'll use force."

As he said it, the two taller men stepped forward to show that they would forcibly eject Grandpa from his own shop if he refused.

_Young Kaiba does not understand,_ Grandpa thought. _But I'll teach him a lesson about the Heart of the Cards. _

Later….

Atem and Yugi returned home from school with their three friends. Atem stopped suddenly in the doorway and held out his arms to stop the others going in.

"What's wrong, Atem?" Téa asked, noticing how serious he looks.

"Something's not right." Atem said seriously, glancing around at the deserted shop. "Grandpa's not here and the door's unlock."

"Hey, you're right!" Yugi gasped. "It's not like Gramps to leave the store unattended and unlocked!"

"Yes, that is correct, Yugi," Atem said as they moved further into the door.

Yugi checked all their merchandises and announced that nothing was taken. Atem nodded in acknowledgement. Just then, the telephone rang and Atem rushed forward to answer it. He grabbed the receiver and yanked it off the hook.

"Hello, Grandpa?" he said hopefully.

"Ah, Pharaoh… perfect," said a voice.

"Kaiba!" Atem growled. "What do you want?"

"I'm keeping your grandfather for you, why don't you come by my building and pick him up?" And then with a _click_, the line went dead as Kaiba hung up.

"Kaiba, what have you done?" yelled Atem angrily. Receiving no answer, he slammed the receiver back on its' hook and turned to the others. "Kaiba's got Grandpa. And now we must go and get him."

The five of them rushed through the Kaiba Corp building and got into an elevator. When the doors slid open, they saw Grandpa lying on the floor in the middle of the hallway.

"Grandpa!" Yugi cried as he rushed forward with Atem hot on his heel. They both kneeled before their Grandfather.

"Grandpa, are you alright?" Atem asked.

Grandpa looked up at them with a pained expression.

"Atem, Yugi…I've failed you both," he groaned.

"What are you talking about, Grandpa?" Atem asked with deep concern as he held his Grandpa's hand.

"I wanted to teach that boy, Kaiba about the Heart of the Cards, but I lost." Grandpa wheezed; he seems to be having trouble breathing. Not a good sign.

"How's the old man feeling, hmm?"

Kaiba stood the doorway at the far end of the hall.

"Kaiba!" Atem shouted in anger. "What have you done to him?"

"We had a Duel, that's all." Kaiba said smugly. "With each of us putting our most valuable cards on the line. But I guess the virtual stimulator I've invented was just too much stimulation for him."

Téa pointed a finger of accusation at him and said: "You must have cheated!"

"Never!" Kaiba said, and he held up a card—the Blue-Eyes White Dragon. "And as proof, look at the card I've won." And then he quickly ripped the card in half, straight down the middle.

Everyone gasped.

"Grandpa's most valiant card!" Yugi exclaimed in horror.

"Since a Deck can only contain three of these cards, the fourth can become an enemy, so…" Kaiba said remorselessly, tossing the two halves of the card aside.

"Kaiba! That's ridiculous!" Atem shouted, outraged. "You could have used that card in a spare Deck. You didn't have to rip it up in front of our Grandfather!"

"Yeah, you're an idiot, Kaiba!" Téa shouted; she had tears in her eyes, thinking how cruel it must have been to Grandpa to see his treasured card destroyed before his very eyes.

"Dat's right, ya big jerk!" Joey put in, raising his fist at Kaiba. "He wasn't going ta use dat card, he was treasurin' it! So how can it become an enemy?"

Tristan looks as though he agreed with Joey as he nodded his head.

Grandpa reaches out to his most prized card with a shaking hand. "M-my Blue-Eyes White Dragon, my—my treasure…" he groaned again and Yugi's worries intensified as his grandpa appeared weaken by the destruction of his card.

"Grandpa, hold on." Yugi told him in a trembling voice, he was close to crying at that moment. He looks up at Kaiba with anger and tears in his eyes. "How could you do such a thing?"

"Atem, here, take this…." Grandpa said, holding up a Deck of cards to his eldest grandson, knowing full well that Atem is likely to Duel Kaiba on the spot.

"What? Grandpa, I…" Atem started to protest, but Grandpa spoke over him.

"I built this Deck, I put my soul in these cards and I taught you everything you know, Atem." Grandpa said. "Take my cards and teach him respect. You can show him the Heart of the Cards."

Atem took the Deck from Grandpa and looked through it. He saw that it contains monsters weaker and less effective than his own recently reconstructed Deck. Even Exodia didn't even prompt him to use this Deck.

"I'm sorry, Grandpa, but I can't use this." he said gently, handing the Deck back. "I'll just use my own Deck. Part of the Heart of the Cards is building your own Deck and having trust in your own ability to wield those cards, right?

"That's right, my boy." Grandpa coughed. "And I know you can do this, go show him what you're made of." He pushed the Deck Atem was holding to him away and said. "Give that to Yugi, my boy. After this, I'm retiring from Dueling for a while.

"Very well, I shall be thinking of you when I Duel, Grandpa." Atem turned to Yugi and handed him Grandpa's Deck and said. "You and the others take Grandpa to the hospital; I'll meet you there after I've dealt with Kaiba."

Without another word, Atem stood up and followed Kaiba into the Dueling Arena.

Outside Kaiba Corp, Yugi and his friends met the ambulance, Tristan carrying Grandpa piggybacked.

"Yugi, Tristan and I will go with your Grandpa to the hospital." Téa said. "You and Joey go support Atem."

"No, Téa, I'd rather be with my Grandpa right now." Yugi said seriously. "Besides, Atem's a really strong Duelist. He can take care of himself."

"Yugi's right, Téa." Joey said solemnly. "You three go with Gramps, I'll stay here and support Atem."

Atem and Kaiba took their places on opposite sides of the arena.

"We'll play by the special Kaiba rules and set life point at two thousand." Kaiba said as their platforms rises up and faced each other. "The first player whose life point hit zero, loses."

Atem smirked. "Heh, the rules are no different than our last Duel at the Domino Duel Monsters Tournament." He looked at Kaiba seriously. "Kaiba! You may have defeated me in our last Duel, but this time, I will defeat you! …For my Grandpa."

Kaiba smirked. "We'll see about that. I'll go first. Virtual system: on." The arena glowed around them as Kaiba drew the first card. "I summon the Hitotsu-Me Giant, in attack position."

A giant green, one-eye monster appeared on the field between the two Duelists.

Atem was startled. "The monster is taking on real form!" he gasped.

"This is my virtual stimulator." Kaiba said from behind his monster.

"You coward!" Atem spat in disgust. "You challenged my Grandpa to a Duel beyond his physical capability! You knew full well that his aging heart cannot handle that much virtual stimulation! And for that, Kaiba, I will show you no mercy."

"Well then, quit your yapping and take your turn already." Kaiba said impatiently.

"With pleasure." Atem said as he drew his first card. "I'll start with this card: Skilled Dark Magician, in attack mode!"

Skilled Dark Magician (1900 ATK) appeared on the field.

Kaiba was shocked at the Skilled Dark Magician's appearance.

"W-what's that? I've never even seen that card before!" Kaiba said.

"That's because this card is a new released card, it only just came out last week." Atem said. "It came in the new Spellcaster Booster Pack. Now, Skilled Dark Magician, attack!"

Skilled Dark Magician swung his staff around before pointing at Kaiba's monster, sending a magical shock-wave at it.

Hitotsu-Me Giant broke into pixel pieces as it was destroyed in battle.

Meanwhile, Joey ran into the stadium and stopped in his tracks. "Wha—? Monsters—real monsters?" at the same time Mokuba Kaiba ran into the stadium and cried out: "Big brother!"

**Pharaoh: **LP 2000

**Kaiba: **LP 1300

"I'll place one card face down and end my turn," Atem said, placing a card in the Spell/Trap card zone. "Your move, Kaiba."

Kaiba chuckles. "You think that just because you've improved your Deck, you're able to beat me? Think again!" he drew a card from his Deck. "I play Saggi the Dark Clown."

A clown monster appeared on the field, facing Skilled Dark Magician.

"Saggi the Dark Clown? Its' attack points is nothing!" Atem stated but at the same time, he wondered what Kaiba's true motives were. All he knew was that there was more to this clown than meets the eyes. "What are you up to?"

"True, your Skilled Dark Magician's attack is nineteen hundred, while my Dark Clown is only six hundred," Kaiba said. "But that's all about to change. I play an Equip Spell card, Axe of Despair, which adds one thousand attack points to my clown."

Saggi the Dark Clown grew larger with a new aura of power, dark and purple lightning flashed around in the aura of this clown's newfound power. Unnoticed by Kaiba, a sphere on Skilled Dark Magician's left shoulder glowed.

"I also play the Spell card, Black Pendant, which adds five hundred _more_ attack points!"

**Saggi the Dark Clown: **ATK 2100

A sphere on Skilled Dark Magician's right shoulder glowed. This time, Kaiba noticed.

"What are those things?" he asked, pointing at Skilled Dark Magician.

"They're spell counters." Atem said shortly. "You'll learn what they do soon enough. Finish your move."

"Dark Clown, attack with dark light!" Kaiba ordered.

"Activate, Quick-Play Spell card: Mystical Space Typhoon!" Atem yelled out as he flipped over his spell card. "Destroys one Spell or Trap card on the field. And I chose... your Axe of Despair!"

Kaiba recoiled in shock. "No!"

**Saggi the Dark Clown: **ATK 1100

**Skilled Dark Magician:** ATK 1900

Skilled Dark Magician batted Saggi the Dark Clown's dark light aside with his staff and then raised it and sent his own form dark light at Saggi the Dark Clown, destroying him.

Kaiba grunted as his monster was destroyed.

"I end my turn," he said, and then he smiled. "But since Saggi the Dark Clown was destroyed while equipped with Black Pendant, you lose five hundred Life Points."

**Pharaoh:** LP 1500

**Kaiba: **LP 600

"Alright, it's my move now!" Atem declared as he drew a card from his Deck. "Now Kaiba, pay attention, you're about to learn about spell counters. Each time a player activates a Spell card, Skilled Dark Magician gains a spell counter. There can be no more than three spell counters on him at a time. Once he gets all three spell counters, I can activate his special ability. By sending him and his spell counters to the Graveyard, I can Special Summon one Dark Magician from my hand, Deck or Graveyard."

"Then that means…" Kaiba said with a scared look on his face.

"That's right, Kaiba." Atem said fiercely. "Skilled Dark Magician, I sacrifice you to activate your special ability!"

Skilled Dark Magician raised his staff high in both hands and struck the ground with it. A bright yellow circle, like the one in the background of the Dark Magician card appeared on the floor, encircling the Skilled Dark Magician. Then a hole appeared in the middle of the circle, and Skilled Dark Magician fell through it.

"Now, from my Deck, I summon my Dark Magician!" Atem shouted, removing Dark Magician from his Deck, placing him on the field and then shuffling his Deck.

A wizard in purple clothing and a pointed, crooked hat rose up through the hole from which Skilled Dark Magician has fallen. As the Dark Magician floated out of the hole and hovered above it, the hole closed up and sealed itself. As the Dark Magician's feet touched the ground, the yellow circle on the floor faded away.

"I play one card face down and end my turn." Atem said.

"My turn, I draw!" Kaiba said, pulling a card from his Deck and looking at it. And then, he laughed evilly. "This is it, Pharaoh! I'm going to crush your magician! I summon the mighty Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"

The Blue-Eyes White Dragon appeared on the field with a mighty roar.

"Blue-Eyes White Dragon, attack!" Kaiba ordered. "White lightning!"

**Blue-Eyes White Dragon**: ATK 3000

**Dark Magician**: ATK 2500

The Blue-Eyes opened its mouth and shot a bolt of white lightning at the Dark Magician.

"You've triggered my trap card!" Atem declared, flipping one of his two face-down cards to reveal Shadow Spell. "Now your Blue-Eyes can't attack, and you can't change its battle position! Also, your dragon loses seven hundred attack points now."

Chains burst out from the ground and wrapped themselves around the white dragon, binding it. The dragon let out a helpless, weak roar. Seeing his dragon lying there, helpless affected Kaiba deeply, he stared at his dragon in despair, feeling that his dragon did not deserved this treatment from Atem and vowed vengeance.

"Pharaoh, I'm going to crush you!" Kaiba declared. "No one bounds my Blue-Eyes White Dragon and gets away with it! I place one card face down and end my turn."

"Alright, it's my move then." Atem stated, drawing a card. "Dark Magician, attack Blue-Eyes White Dragon now. Dark magic attack!"

"I activate Negate Attack!" Kaiba yelled, flipping his Trap card face up. "This card negates Dark Magician's attack and ends your battle phase."

"Very well then, I place this one card face down and end my turn." Atem said, placing a card face down.

"My move," Kaiba said, drawing a card. "I activate the Spell card, Heavy Storm!'

A powerful wind swept the field, destroying all Spell and Trap card. The metal chains binding the Blue-Eyes down became very rusty and broke. Now free from the chains, the Blue-Eyes stood up and spread its' wings, letting out a mighty roar as it regains its' original attack points.

"And now…" Kaiba said, holding up another Blue-Eyes White Dragon card. "I summon my second Blue-Eyes."

A second white dragon appeared on the field next to the first.

"Blue-Eyes White Dragon, attack Dark Magician!"

Atem grimaced and grunted. He watched with helplessness as his Dark Magician was hit head on by Blue-Eyes' white lightning and disappeared in the light, taking five hundred of Atem's Life Points with him.

"How the mighty have fallen…" Kaiba smirked, referring to the Dark Magician.

**Pharaoh:** 1000

**Kaiba**: 600

Atem said nothing as he drew his next card that turned out to be Kuriboh. _This is useless; I can't defeat two Blue-Eyes with this card_… He looked at the other two cards in his hand: Swords of Revealing Light and Obnoxious Celtic Guard. _My only hope is to hold up a defense long enough for me to draw out the card I need to win this Duel…_

"I set a monster in defense mode." Atem said, playing a face-down monster in defense position. "Next, I play Swords of Revealing Light!" Two dozen bright light swords appeared on Kaiba's side of the field. "Now you can't make any attacks against me for three turns."

"How desperate," Kaiba said cockily. "What good would a three-turn delay do you?"

"More than you could ever imagine, Kaiba." Atem replied with a poker-face smile. "That concludes my turn, your move."

Kaiba draws his card, and then laughed as he saw that he drew his final Blue-Eyes.

"It's over, Pharaoh!" Kaiba yelled triumphantly. "Behold, the monster unlike any you've ever seen! I activate the spell card, Polymerization! This fuses my two Blue-Eyes with the one in my hand." The three dragons merged to form a single three-headed dragon. "Here it is, the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon!"

Atem stared at the new dragon with a fierce look, as if telling Kaiba that he is fearless of him and his little pet dragon.

"Kaiba, Swords of Revealing Light is still in effect," Atem reminded him. "So your dragon will have to wait for its grand finale... My move!" he draws his card. "I play Card of Sanctity! Now we both draw until we each have six cards in our hands." They both drew their cards. "And now, I play Cards Destruction! Now we must throw away our entire hands and then redraw the number of cards we threw away."

"What are you up to?" Kaiba growled as he threw away and then drew his six cards.

"You're about to find out. I play Monster Reborn." Atem stated, "to bring back Dark Magician, in attack mode."

Kaiba smirked. "So you're going to have me destroy him all over again…"

"Not quite," Atem said with a smirk to rival Kaiba's. "I place four cards face-down and then…" he held up the Mage Power spell card for Kaiba to see. "I'll equip Dark Magician with this, Mage Power." He laid it down face-up on the field. "Now my Dark Magician gains an additional five hundred attack and defense points for each spell and trap card on my side of the field. And as you can see, there are five cards in my spell and trap card zone."

"Oh no, that means your monster is stronger now." Kaiba said, looking a little more than afraid.

"That's exactly what it means." Atem said before declaring his attack on the so-called 'ultimate' dragon. "Dark Magician, attack! Dark Magic Attack!"

**Dark Magician:** ATK 5000

**Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon: **ATK 4500

The Dark Magician flung his staff around before thrusting it forward toward the three-headed dragon, sending a powerful dark and purple wave at it.

"So much for your Ultimate dragon…" Atem smirked as the dragon shattered into pieces. "You now have one hundred Life Points left, so the end is near…"

Kaiba grimaced and growled, his fist shaking. "I will not lose!" he declared. "I won't lose to you, Pharaoh!" he draws his card. "I play Monster Reborn, to bring back Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon!"

"Again?" Atem asked with a smirk. "My Dark Magician defeated that dragon once before and he'll do it again."

"I'm not done!" Kaiba yelled. "I play Megamorph, which doubles my dragon's attack power. Now, go Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, attack! Wipe him out!"

**Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon:** ATK 9000

**Dark Magician:** ATK 5000

Atem smirked. "You've just made a grave mistake, Kaiba, and that will cost you the Duel. Go, Trap card: Magic Cylinder!"

Kaiba gasped. "Wh-what's that?"

"This ultra-rare Trap card stops your attack and redirect it back at you!" Atem declared. "You lose, Kaiba!"

"NOOOO!" Kaiba screamed as the blast from his Ultimate dragon went into one cylinder and out the other, it flew directly at him, hitting him in the chest and his Life Points dropped to zero.

**Pharaoh**: LP 1000

**Kaiba**: LP 0

In the stands, Joey was celebrating while Mokuba despairs in his big brother's defeat.

"Aw yeah! Atem, you're da man! You've won!" Joey was yelling while Mokuba muttered on the other side of the stands: "Im-impossible! Big brother _never_ loses!"

"You play only for power, Kaiba and that is why you lost." Atem said. "But if you put your heart in the game, there is nothing you can't do. That is what my Grandpa was trying to tell you when he was talking about the Heart of the Cards, you need to put your heart in your cards and in the game and duel with passion."

But Kaiba heard none of this speech, still muttering: "How could I lose to… to _him_?"

"Kaiba," Atem said, and then all of a sudden, the Millennium Puzzle glowed and the Eye of Wdjat glowed on his forehead. In that moment, he felt power surging through him and he sensed that he could remove evil from a person's heart along with an overwhelming temptation to do so. "This will crush the evil in you—Mind Crush!" He thrust out his hand and Kaiba's inner evil was shattered into pieces. Kaiba screamed and then fell to his knees. "Now the evil that has been poisoning your mind has been crushed to bits."

At the hospital, Grandpa opened his eyes.

Yugi, who was standing over him, gasped. "Grandpa's awake! Grandpa, are you alright?"

Grandpa smiled proudly up at the ceiling. "Atem won." He said.

In a dark room, a tall man in a red suit stood listening to his messenger as he held a wine glass in his hand.

"Mr. Pegasus, Seto Kaiba has been defeated in a Duel….by someone named 'Pharaoh'."

"Hmm." Pegasus said interestedly, his Millennium Eye flashing from beneath his silver hair….

**To Be Continued**

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong>

**I hope you like this first episode of my Yu-Gi-Oh! Series. I know some of the cards mentioned in this episode either didn't exist in the Duelist Kingdom era or aren't even real cards, but let's pretend they do, that's the whole purpose of fan fictions. **

**I have seen both the 4Kids' English dub of this episode (Heart of the Cards) and the uncut edition (The Blood Curdling Blue-Eyes White Dragon). I'm sure you've noticed dialogs from both the 4Kids' dub and the uncut edition in this story. That is because I'm using a mixture of both English editions, the uncut being closer to the original Japanese dialogues and the 4Kids being what most Americans are familiar with. I've only used the 4Kids' dialogs when it makes more sense in the conversations between characters.**

**This story was written because I've always felt that it would be better if Atem and Yugi were actual brothers than being two souls inhabiting one body. I've seen Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, Syrus reminded me a little of Yugi—same eye shape and body build. To me, Zane is like a mixture of the Pharaoh and Kaiba. Cold and unemotional at times, yet very caring. Zane and Syrus's brotherhood is what inspires me to write a story of Atem and Yugi being brothers. **

**Anime animation/artwork choice for my series: the high-quality animation that was done for Yu-Gi-Oh! The Movie: The Pyramid of Light. All cards look like their real-life counterparts as they did in the movie. Outside school, Kaiba wears his white sleeveless, cape-like jacket. I like him in that outfit best, so in my series, he is wearing it even in the Duelist Kingdom era. I always love the movie's animation was a lot better than the television series, so when you visualize my series, imagine the characters in their movie animation **

**I do not know when I'll update and add the next episode, but rest assured that it will eventually come up. It may be awhile, because I have not seen all the uncut episodes or the original Japanese episodes, so I cannot compare the two versions of certain episode. If you know a site where I can read dialogs of Yu-Gi-Oh! Episodes, both 4Kids and uncut, (Not yu-jo Yu-Gi-Oh! Episode Guide, I already know that one well, and it doesn't give me the whole uncut dialogs) that would be very much appreciated! Till next time. **


	2. Episode Two

**Yu-Gi-Oh! The Bonds of Brotherhood**

**Theme Song: One Card Short**

_Life's just a game. We all wanna win._

_Keep your hand a secret, unleash the monsters within!_

_Sometimes it's over before it's even begun._

_If someone else gets hurt then, what have you really won?_

_I'm always one card short, always one day late!_

_For once I'd like an ending I can celebrate._

_Stacked the deck myself, so there's no one else to blame._

_I need just one more move, one final chance to prove_

_I can win this game._

_Life's just a duel, that's how the world is made._

_But are we really players, or are we being played?_

_I'm always one card short, always one day late!_

_For once I'd like an ending I can celebrate._

_Stacked the deck myself, so there's no one else to blame._

_I need just one more move, one final chance to prove_

_I can win this game._

_One card short, one day late!_

_Give me somethin', somethin' to celebrate!_

_Stacked the deck myself so there's no one else to blame._

_One more move I'm gonna win this game._  
><em>I'm gonna win this game.<em>  
><em>I'm gonna win this game!<em>  
><em>One more move, I'll win this game.<em>

* * *

><p><strong>Episode Two: Training of the Underdog<strong>

* * *

><p>During the five-minute break at school the next day, Joey was playing Duel Monsters with Téa in the classroom.<p>

"Okay, here you go, Téa," Joey said, playing Rock Ogre Grotto #1 in attack position. "My Rock Ogre Grotto Number One is gonna knock your blocks off!"

Téa flipped over her monster card to reveal Happy Lover with five hundred defense points.

"Yeah, Happy Lover's five hundred defense points against Rock Ogre's eight hundred attack points, Téa." Joey said excitedly, celebrating too soon in Yugi's opinion. "Give it up!"

"Okay, my turn." Téa said. "I'm going to play my Breath of Life card," and she laid down the Breath of Life spell card in her Spell/Trap card zone.

"Huh? What's dat?" Joey asked.

"The holy wind wears down rock monsters." Yugi explained. "Reduces them to rubbles!"

Joey was stunned as he imagined his Rock Ogre crumbling to dust in a high wind.

"That brings your Life Points all the way down to zero, Joey." Téa said, looking delighted with herself. "Once again, I win."

Joey groaned out of frustration with Tristan saying once again: "Man, you stink at this."

"Why can't I ever win?" Joey asked Yugi later after school as the two of them stood outside in front of the school. "Teach me what I'm doin' wrong."

Just then, someone drove up beside them on a black 1996 Yamaha Virago 1100 motorcycle and stopped beside them. The driver dismounted and took off his helmet to reveal himself to be none other than Atem.

"Whoa, Atem!" Joey exclaimed, momentarily forgetting his depression. "What a sweet ride ya got there!"

"Thank you, Joey." Atem said, placing his helmet on top of his motorcycle seat and turning to look at them. "What's wrong, Joey? You look a bit… depressed."

"Téa defeated him in another Duel today." Yugi explained.

"Again? Joey, that makes five times in a row!" Atem said, a little shocked.

"Don't remind me…." Joey grumbled sadly. "Anyway, what am I doin' wrong? Why can't I ever win?"

"Well, as I've never witnessed your Duels with Téa, I can't be sure." Atem said, looking thoughtful. "However, from my observation of your one Duel with Yugi, I'd say that your problem lies in not giving support to your monsters with your spell and trap cards."

"But I don't have any spell and trap cards!" Joey said despairingly.

"That's exactly your problem, Joey." Atem said seriously. "Your Deck is way out of balance. You cannot win a Duel with monster cards alone. With no spell cards in your Deck, your monsters will be creamed every time."

"See? That's the kind of thing I need to know!" Joey exclaimed. "Atem, you gotta' help me out!"

"Sure, Joey." Atem said with a smile. "Although I've never tutored anyone except Yugi in Duel Monsters, I am prepared to offer my services to you. Are you willing to train under me?"

"YES, YES ATEM! YES!" Joey yelled, grasping the front of Atem's customized school jacket while standing on his knees. "I'll do anything ya asked—anything!"

Atem nodded and pulled Joey to his feet. "Very well. Come to the Game Shop at seven o'clock tonight for your first Duel Monsters lesson." He turned and moved toward his motorcycle. He tossed Yugi the spare helmet. "Come on, Yugi, let's go."

Atem mounted his motorcycle, the engine roared as he turned the key and the handlebar. Yugi put on his helmet and mounted behind Atem on the motorcycle seat.

"Bye Joey," Yugi said. "See ya later tonight, I guess."

"Oh, and Joey," Atem said, pausing in the act of putting on his own helmet. "Bring every single card you own. The first lesson is called Preparation, in which, you start building your Deck."

"Alright, Atem, I'll bring 'em." Joey promised as Atem put on his helmet.

With a roar, the motorcycle sped up down the road and disappeared around the corner.

True to his words, Joey arrived at the game shop at the appointed time with a rucksack full of cards over his shoulder.

"Welcome, Joey," Atem greeted his new student at the door. "Come up to our room to build your Deck."

"Study hard now, Joseph." Grandpa said as they passed him. "Atem will turn you into a true Duelist in no time."

"Right, thanks Gramps." Joey said, following Atem up the stairs to his and Yugi's room.

Inside the room was a set of bunk beds, two dressers, two desks and just one closet. The top bunk was obviously Atem's, due to the fact that his name was carved into the headboard, similarly, the bottom bunk had Yugi's name carved on it. A reference to the fact that Atem was born first, five minutes before Yugi.

"Okay Joey, spread all your cards out on the floor." Atem told him.

Joey obeyed, turning his rucksack upside down and dumping his cards out onto the carpeted floor.

Atem saw that Joey have some spell cards, some trap cards and a lot of weak normal monster cards. Atem mentally sighed, thinking this was going to be harder than he thought….

"Okay Joey, now make a Deck of forty cards. Select fourteen low level monsters."

"Uh, aren't ya gonna tell me which monsters ta pick?" Joey asked.

"No, Joey, because the Deck must be put together by the Duelist himself." Atem explained. "You have to pick out the monster cards that's best suited for you; it's like putting a piece of yourself into your Deck. Make every card you pick represent your heart and soul."

"Uh, okay." Joey said, and he looked over each and every one of his cards until he had selected his fourteen cards.

"Now select six high-level monsters." Atem said. "And you'll have twenty monster cards."

Joey obeyed, selecting his strongest high-level monsters. Just then, Yugi came into the room with a Duel Monsters' booster pack box.

"Ah, Yugi, thank you." Atem said, taking the box from Yugi and giving him a hundred dollar bill.

"You're welcome," Yugi said, taking the money. "So, how's the lesson's going?"

"It just barely started." Atem said. "You can watch if you want."

"Okay, I'll be right back." Yugi left the room to put the money into the cash register in the shop downstairs.

"Okay, now Joey." Atem said. "The monsters you've chosen are good choices, but they're all normal monsters. You can't win with normal monsters alone; you need some effect monsters too. Now, as you don't have any effect monsters and very few _useful_ spell and trap card, and as your teacher, I have paid for your very first booster pack box, there are fifty packs in here. You're going to open them one by one and hopefully, you'll get some really good cards."

"Alright!" Joey said happily, taking the first pack and ripping it open. After a half-hour of opening card packs and exchanging monsters he'd already pick with better ones, Atem was ready to move on to the next step of the Deck building.

"Now, pick out ten spell cards and ten trap cards."

"Alright, Atem, I'm pickin' this card: Axe of Despair." Joey stated, picking the card up from the pile and putting it with the cards that will make up his Deck.

Atem nodded approvingly. "Hm-hmm, that's a good card, Joey."

Another hour later, Joey's warrior-theme Deck was completed.

"Good, now that you have your own personal Deck, let's move on to lesson two: Phases of Gameplay." Atem said, putting up six Duel Monsters diagrams, each explaining the six phases in a player's turn. For two hours, Atem talked Joey through the diagrams, explaining the basics of the game, stopping here and there whenever Joey had a question.

Now exhausted with an additional headache from taking in so much in one sitting, Joey was shuffling his Deck, trying to master the Duel Monsters Shuffle with his eyes closed. Then the cards flew from his hands as fell forward.

"So tired, must rest." Joey muttered.

Grandpa, who had taken over Atem's lessons so that he can do his homework downstairs, raised a stick. "You have no time for rest!" and he slammed the stick down on the table, causing Joey jerked up in alarm. "Did you come here to learn Duel Monsters or did you come here to catch up on your sleeping?"

Just then, Atem came into the room, having finished his homework.

"Take it easy, Grandpa." Atem said. "It is eleven-thirty, after all." He looked down at Joey sitting on the floor. "That's all for tonight, Joey. Why don't you go home and get some rest?"

"Alright, Atem." Joey said, standing up, stretching and yawning. "See ya tomorrow." And he left.

A week later, after a lot of hard work and effort, Joey entered into the local Duel Monsters tournament and made it to the top eight. Though he didn't win the tournament, Atem and Grandpa were very proud at Joey's progression in Duel Monsters. And he was still working very hard to improve.

The evening after Joey's first tournament found Yugi, Téa, Tristan, Atem and Joey watching the All-American Duel Monsters Championship on TV.

The Announcer on TV was introducing the Duelists of the final match.

"Good evening, ten million Duel Monsters fans!"

"Ten million?" Atem said; standing with his arms crossed behind Yugi and Joey on the sofa. "More like ten trillion…."

"Ten trillion?" Joey exclaimed. "There's _dat_ many Duelists in America?"

"Well, no. There should be at least ten billion Duelists in America, and the number is ever-increasing." Atem said. "But then, you have Duelists from all over the world; Japanese Duelists, Chinese Duelists, Spanish Duelists, English Duelists—Duelists all across the globe! Adding up to ten trillion and still counting…"

"Shh!" Téa hissed, "I'm trying to watch this!"

"Oh… sorry, Téa." Atem apologized gently.

"….here comes the finalists!" the announcer was saying. "Representing California, Weevil Underwood, fourteen years old!"

A kid with turquoise hair arranged in a Beatles' Haircut appeared on screen. He wore thick round yellow glasses and he was wearing what he clearly thought was a winning smile, but looks more like a leer to Atem and the others.

"Representing New Jersey, Rex Raptor, fifteen years old."

A kid with a red beanie cap appeared on screen. His hair was brown with dyed purple strands next to his forehead. His expression was serious, therefore he wasn't smiling.

"It would be me Dueling now if everything had gone well." Joey complained.

"Joey, calm down," Atem said firmly. "You did your best and you should be proud of yourself for what you achieved in such a short time. Duel Monsters is not all about winning. It's more of a quest for experience."

"And besides," added Téa. "You have done really well. Look on the bright side; you made it to the quarterfinals!"

"Dat's true." Joey said proudly.

"Yes, and we're all very proud of you, Joey." Atem said.

"Yeah, it looks like Atem and Grandpa's training's really starting to pay off." Yugi agreed. "The training was pretty tough."

"Hm-hmm," Joey nodded with his eyes closed, still smiling.

Joey's flashback was of himself exhaustedly shuffling his Deck until they slipped from his hands and scattered all over the table. He was under Grandpa's training that night.

"Grandpa…. I can't…." he said as he slumped over the table.

Grandpa raised his stick. "Oh yes you can!" and he struck the table with his stick, causing Joey to jerk up off the table. "Joey, you'll never be able to play in the tournament with this attitude of yours!"

After the flashback, Tristan leaned toward Joey.

"You were only a finalist in the town's preliminaries," he said teasingly.

Téa smiled sheepishly while Atem glared at Tristan. He's going to have to have a _long_ talk with Tristan about attacking Joey's confidence with much teasing while he was trying to build Joey's confidence up. Tristan saw Atem's glare and fell silence.

Joey hung his head. "I'm too ashamed to see Grandpa, he trained me so hard. You too, Atem."

"Don't be, Joey." Atem said kindly, placing a hand of comfort on Joey's shoulder. "The fact that you tried your best and gave it your all is all that matters. We are very proud of you. Never be ashamed of your Duel Monsters' defeats, for you can learn from them and improve yourself and your Deck."

Joey looked up at Atem through watery eyes, he was touched by this speech and it inspires him to keep on going and show the world what he's made of.

"Thanks, Atem," he said, wiping his eyes on his sleeve. "I promise, I won't let ya down."

"Shh!" Tristan hissed, his attention on the TV again. "It's about to start."

"Atem, who do ya think is gonna win?" Joey asked.

"Hmm, let's see," Atem said thoughtfully. "They both seem to be equal in terms of skill and strength. Weevil prefers to use combos with insect monsters and Rex prefers to use the brute strength of dinosaur and dragon cards along with combos to overwhelm his opponents.

Yugi nodded seriously. "Yep, it can go either way with those two. When they get right down to it, it becomes a matter of one of them drawing their best cards first."

"Well, my money's on Rex." Joey said. "Tristan, d'you wanna take me on dat bet?—OW!" Joey was whacked on the head from behind with a rolled-up newspaper.

"No betting in my house, Joseph," said a firm voice. It was Grandpa.

Joey turned to Grandpa, massaging his head. "Ow, Grandpa, dat hurts!"

"Good, maybe now you won't gamble in my house." Grandpa said smugly.

"Grandpa, please do not strike my student." Atem told his Grandpa firmly.

"Yeah, Joey can't afford to lose any more IQ points than he already lost from fighting a lot." Tristan said.

Grandpa suddenly looked very ashamed of himself. "I'm sorry, Joseph."

"Aw it's okay," Joey smiled, still rubbing his head. "I think…."

"Oh, Atem, I'd almost forgot." Grandpa said, handing Atem a post office stamped box. "You've received a package today. I hope you haven't been using my credit card to buy Duel Monsters cards off of eBay again…"

Atem accepted the package with a confused expression.

"Thank you, Grandpa." Atem said. "But what could this be? I have not purchased anything since I won the auction on Dark Magician Girl, Skilled Dark Magician and ten other cards…"

"I thought you said you got them out of the new Spellcaster booster pack." Yugi said.

"Yes, that is where they came from," Atem said, setting the package aside. "but someone who already had those cards sold them to me on eBay."

"Yes, and that was the most expensive eBay purchase ever made on my credit card." Grandpa said, looking very annoyed. "Twelve Duel Monsters cards should _NOT_ be worth two thousand dollars, plus shipping! And I'm _STILL_ trying to pay that bill!"

"I'm sorry, Grandpa…" Atem said meekly. "But I assure you, I have not made any purchases from…" he looked down at the sender's address on the package, and paused in shock. "…from the Industrial Illusions…" he finished looking stunned.

"Hey, that's the company that makes the Duel Monsters cards!" Yugi exclaimed. "Why would they send you a package?"

"I don't know, but I bet it has something to do my victory over Kaiba." Atem said, thoughtfully. "As an international Duel Monsters champion, Kaiba's defeat naturally attracted a lot of attention. And don't forget, nothing stays quiet in the Dueling world, rumors and stories spread faster than wildfire."

"Eh, he's no champion," Joey said cockily. "I bet I can take 'im on, no problem."

"Never underestimate Kaiba, Joey." Atem warned. "Knowing him as I have done, he's probably working overtime to improve his Deck. My new, barely released cards took him by surprise. He didn't know how to fight against them.

"Yeah, but still… he doesn't act like a champion…." Joey muttered. "He acts more like a first-class jerk."

Atem chuckles. "Yes, I agree. He should learn to be a bit kinder, but then again, he is a ruthless businessman and that's enough to make anybody turn cold."

"Maybe he wouldn't be so cold if he had some friends." Téa said thoughtfully. "Maybe that's what he needs: Friendship."

"He would be a different person, that's for sure." Tristan agreed.

"Kaiba has always been a lone wolf," Atem said. "He prefers to operate alone in most matters. It all becomes a question of whether Kaiba would accept someone's hand in friendship…" _I hope I've changed that when I removed the evil influence from his heart. Question is: how had I been able to do that?_ He placed a hand on the Millennium Puzzle that hung on thick silver chains around his neck. _Does this Millennium Puzzle somehow give me that power? What kind of power does the Puzzle contains? Is it good or evil? So many questions remain unanswered in my mind. I shall keep the Puzzle close until I find out more about it. The Puzzle must have some ancient magic in it, how else could it hold itself together without glue, or give the wearer the ability to remove the dark thoughts and intentions from a person's heart? I will guard this Puzzle with my life, in case its' power can be used for evil purposes._

Atem came out of his thoughts just in time to see Weevil's Basic Insect equipped with a cannon pack on its' shoulder, delivered the final blow to Rex's Two-Headed King Rex, which shattered into pieces upon being destroyed.

"What?" Joey exclaimed in shock. "A big two-headed dinosaur defeated by one lousy bug?"

"That just goes to show you, Joey," Atem said wisely. "_Never_ underestimate your opponent, no matter how small they may appear, for it could cost you dearly. In the game of Duel Monsters, looks can be very deceiving, so be careful. "

"Our victor, Weevil Underwood will now be presented with the winner's trophy and the award money," the Announcer was saying. "Here to present these awards is the honorary CEO of Industrial Illusions, Inc. and the ingenious inventor of Duel Monsters, Mr. Maximillion Pegasus!"

A trap door opened in front of Weevil and Pegasus rose up through it, holding a golden sparkly trophy. He presented Weevil with the trophy saying: "Many congratulations."

"Uh, thanks a lot," said Weevil, blushing and accepting his prize.

"I will grant you unconditional entry to an upcoming competition sponsored by my company." Pegasus told the still-blushing Weevil. "The Duelist Kingdom Tournament!"

Later that night, Pegasus' private car was leaving the area where the All-American Duel Monsters Tournament had been held, and inside the car, Pegasus was in conversation with his flunky in the backseat.

"Sir, it looks like we won't have any trouble finding plenty of elite Duelists to participate," the flunky was saying.

"I must be quite honest," Pegasus said. "None of the Duelist we saw today in the tournament really excited me. And your errand?"

"It has been delivered to the Pharaoh just as you have ordered, sir," the flunky replied.

"Is that so?"

Back at the Game Shop, Grandpa was urging Atem to open his package, saying: "Atem, I'm itching to know what's in that package."

"Alright, but what could it be?" Atem asked as he opened the box.

Inside was a pair of left-hand gloves, four Star Chips and a video tape,

"What is this?" asked Téa.

"Perhaps the video will provide us with the answer to that question," Atem suggested, taking the tape from the package and inserting it into the VCR.

Pegasus appeared on screen. "Hello there, it's a pleasure to finally meet you, Pharaoh-boy."

"Hey, is dat…?" Joey asked.

"We saw him on TV," Téa said.

"It's the inventor of Duel Monsters," Grandpa said, "Maximillion Pegasus."

Yugi looked up at his older, taller brother with confusion. "What would he want with you, Atem?"

"Well, let's hear what he has to say and maybe we'll find out." Atem replied.

"I am sending this as a personal video letter to you, Pharaoh." Pegasus continues.

"Why is he calling you 'Pharaoh'?" Joey asked, forgetting that he already knew from the meeting with Kaiba in the Game Shop.

"Pharaoh is the only name I am known by among Duelists, I guess that's why." Atem replied.

"When I heard that you defeated young Kaiba, I decided to test your Dueling skills." Pegasus continued. "The rules are as followed. We'll play with a time limit. Life Points are set to two-thousand. When the fifteen minutes are up, the player with the higher Life Points wins. Sounds good?"

"Does he expect you to play against a pre-recorded video?" Joey asked.

"How stupid," Tristan agreed.

All of the sudden, everything went dark and cold. And everybody except Atem and Pegasus froze, as if they were frozen in time or they were turned to stone.

Atem turned to look at the others. "Grandpa, Yugi!" he cried. "Joey, Tristan, Téa!"

"They would only be in the way," Pegasus said with too much self-confidence for Atem's liking. "Shall we begin, Pharaoh-boy?"

Atem turned back to Pegasus, his anger was aroused against the man.

"Pegasus, what have you done to them? Whatever you did, undo it right now!" he shouted as the Millennium Puzzle glowed and the Eye of Wdjat appeared on his forehead, giving him some power and protection in this Shadow Game.

"Oh, but of course." Pegasus said lazily. "but first, you have to defeat me in a Duel."

"Fine! Start the clock and make your move, Pegasus." Atem said, putting his own Deck down and drawing five cards.

"Let the game begin." Pegasus said, as the camera zoomed out away from his face to show the rest of him in front of a Dueling mat. "I'll make the first move," he said, laying a card face-down in his Spell/Trap card zone. "That's it. Now it's your turn, Pharaoh."

"Alright, my move," Atem drew a card.

"I summon Magician's Valkyria, in attack mode!" Atem declared. "Next, I set two cards face-down and end my turn. Your move, Pegasus."

"Let me guess, your face-down cards are Magic Cylinder and Sage's Stone, right?

Atem gasped in shock. "But how—?"

"Never mind how I know, Pharaoh-boy. Now let's continue play." Pegasus draws a card. "I play a Spell card, Tremendous Fire." Atem grunted loudly while shielding his head with his arm as the big fireball hit him directly, while a smaller fireball hit Pegasus. "I guess it's true what they say: when you play with fire, you're going to get burned. You just lost a thousand life points and I, five hundred."

**Pharaoh LP: **1000

**Pegasus LP: **1500

"Now I activate my Trap card, Gravity Bind!" Pegasus said, turning his Trap card face-up.

"Oh no!" Atem gasped. "It's a continuous Trap card that prevents me from attacking with monsters of level four or higher!"

"That's right, Pharaoh-boy. And I know you just have a few monsters whose levels are less than four." Pegasus said, looking at the cards in his hand. "In the meantime, I summon Sonic Duck in attack mode. Like it? It's a lovely level three duck with seventeen hundred attack points. And now I'm going to play Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy your Magic Cylinder Trap card."

Atem shielded his face from the high wind as his Trap card was destroyed.

"Now, Sonic Duck, attack Magician's Valkria!" Pegasus ordered.

**Sonic Duck ATK:** 1700

**Magician's Valkria ATK: **1600

Sonic Duck quacked as it spread its' wings and begin flapping them, sending a rain of feathery knives at Magician Valkria, destroying her.

**Pharaoh LP:** 900

**Pegasus LP:** 1500

"Oh, this is so much fun!" Pegasus said, with childish delight. "Your turn."

Atem grimaced as he drew his card. He got the feeling that Pegasus was just toying with him and he hated being messed with.

"Alright, Pegasus, now it's time for a magic act."

Pegasus scanned Atem's mind with the Millennium Eye, and was shocked to find that his mind was like a giant maze with many doors that leads to booty traps. With his normal eye, he saw the Eye of Wdjat glowing on Atem's forehead with the Millennium Puzzle glowing as well. The Puzzle was blocking Pegasus' Mind-Probe! He could no longer see into Atem's mind!

"I summon Breaker the Magical Warrior!" Atem declared, summoning his monster to the field. "Now, as the inventor of Duel Monsters, you should know all about Breaker's special ability."

"Yes, he gets a spell counter upon being summoned to the field." Pegasus confirms.

"Then you know what happens next." Atem said, smiling. "I remove the spell counter to destroy Gravity Bind!"

Breaker's sword shone with a bright light and then he slashed at the air with it, sending a magical wave toward Gravity Bind, destroying it.

"Now I activate," Atem said, grinning as he held up a Spell card. "Magical Dimension!" he laid the card down. "Now I sacrifice my Magical Warrior and summon—Dark Magician Girl!"

A blond girl in a blue and pink spellcaster outfit with a blue crooked hat appeared on the field.

"Oh no! You're going to summon the Dark Magician!" exclaimed Pegasus, who hadn't forgotten Atem's face-down card.

"That's right, Pegasus, but first, with the second effect of my Magical Dimension, your Sonic Duck is destroyed!" Atem declared as he flipped his Sage's Stone card over. "And now, as you correctly stated, this card allows me to summon my Dark Magician!"

Dark Magician appeared on the field next to the Dark Magician Girl.

"Your move, Pegasus."

_The Millennium Puzzle is much more powerful than I had imagined! I can't even scan a thread of thought in this boy's mind without getting hopelessly lost in this endless labyrinth! _Pegasus thought in horror. _Although I have more Life Points, there's still time for him to start attacking. I have to stall him._

"I'd like to propose a wager on this Duel." Pegasus said, sounding as confident as ever. "If you win, you're free to do as you please. But if I win, you will have to participate in my upcoming Duelist Kingdom Tournament."

"I'm not at all interested in your event, Pegasus." Atem said with a distasteful tone. "However, if you win, then I shall attend."

"Splendid! Oh, just think of it! Pharaoh, the one who defeated Kaiba-boy, attending my tournament!" Pegasus said happily. "Oh, this is so exciting!"

Atem smirked. "Don't count on it just yet, Pegasus. After all, you haven't beaten me yet."

"Oh, so true." Pegasus agreed, pretending to pout. "Oh, well in that case, I'll simply have to crush you, Pharaoh-boy." He draws his card and smiled like a small boy on Christmas morning. "I play a Spell card, Swords of Revealing Light!"

Atem was shocked as the realization hit him like a brick! "You're stalling the Duel, making sure I'd have fewer Life Points when the time runs out! Very clever of you, Pegasus."

"Why, thank you." Pegasus said with smile. "Now I play this: the Illusionist Faceless Mage, in attack mode."

A man with three heads appeared on the field, the middle head was faceless with only a mouth.

"That's it, it's your turn." Pegasus said calmly.

Atem drew his card and grimaced, without being able to attack, there was nothing he could do this turn.

"I end my turn." Atem said.

"I thought so," Pegasus said, smirking as he drew his card and ends his turn.

This continued for two more turns, by then, time was nearly up!

"My turn!" Atem said, drawing his card on the Draw Phase. "And now, your Swords of Revealing Light is expired!" The swords of light vanished from Atem's side of the field. "Now, Dark Magician, attack that Faceless Mage! Dark Magic Attack!"

But as the Dark Magician raised his emerald-green staff, he and Dark Magician Girl, along with Pegasus' monster, vanished.

"The game is over," Pegasus said, looking pleased with himself. "That was very close. If the game had finished, I would have surely lost to you, Pharaoh-boy.

Atem just grimaced at his defeat. If only he had a couple of more seconds to complete his attack, he would have won this Duel!

"Pharaoh, you are a lot more skillful than I had thought." Pegasus continued. "I have a strange feeling that you and I will Duel again in the Duelist Kingdom."

"And if I were to say no?" Atem asked.

Pegasus shook a finger at him. "Hm-hm, hm. Pharaoh, are you going back on your word? You've agreed that if I win, you'd participate in my tournament. But if you need persuading…." He pushed back his long sliver hair to reveal his Millennium Eye. "Then you will attend if you want to reclaim what is most dear to you."

A bolt of magic shot from the Eye and hit Grandpa! Grandpa's soul was then sucked into the TV, where he cried out: "ATEM! YUGI!""

The video letter ended, Grandpa vanished and the Shadow Realm vanished. The others came back to their senses, as if nothing happened, to find Atem crying in anguish, crying out for his Grandpa. The others then noticed Grandpa falling over sideway, senseless

"GRANDPA, COME BACK TO ME! GRANDPA!" Atem cried, tears pouring out of his eyes.

It was so rare for Atem to display this level of emotions that his brother and friends were speechless.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong>

**Hey there, I hope you've enjoyed this second episode and I hope I didn't take too long. I thought that since the Pharaoh rode a horse to his Duel with Raphael, he's more likely to drive a motorcycle in the city. I hope you like that idea. Episode three is coming soon to a Fan Fiction site near you,**


	3. Episode Three

**Author's note: Any and all guys who wears a suit and sunglasses all the time, and works for Pegasus –like Kemo—I will be calling them all "goons." Remember, goons wear suits and sunglasses and they work for Pegasus. **

* * *

><p><strong>Yu-Gi-Oh! The Bonds of Brotherhood<strong>

**Theme Song: One Card Short**

_Life's just a game. We all wanna win._

_Keep your hand a secret, unleash the monsters within!_

_Sometimes it's over before it's even begun._

_If someone else gets hurt then, what have you really won?_

_I'm always one card short, always one day late!_

_For once I'd like an ending I can celebrate._

_Stacked the deck myself, so there's no one else to blame._

_I need just one more move, one final chance to prove_

_I can win this game._

_Life's just a duel, that's how the world is made._

_But are we really players, or are we being played?_

_I'm always one card short, always one day late!_

_For once I'd like an ending I can celebrate._

_Stacked the deck myself, so there's no one else to blame._

_I need just one more move, one final chance to prove_

_I can win this game._

_One card short, one day late!_

_Give me somethin', somethin' to celebrate!_

_Stacked the deck myself so there's no one else to blame._

_One more move I'm gonna win this game.  
>I'm gonna win this game.<br>I'm gonna win this game!  
>One more move, I'll win this game.<em>

* * *

><p><strong>Episode Three: Aboard the Duelist Kingdom Ship<strong>

* * *

><p>Atem stood alone on top of the school's roof, looking out into the horizon. He was deep in thoughts with his arms crossed over his chest.<p>

_Pegasus!_ Atem thought with an angry glare, as a mental image of Pegasus appeared on the setting sun. _I will never forgive you…_

**Flashback**_: Pegasus pushed back his long sliver hair to reveal his Millennium Eye. "Then you will attend if you want to reclaim what is most dear to you."_

_A bolt of magic shot from the Eye and hit Grandpa! Grandpa's soul was then sucked into the TV, where he cried out: "ATEM! YUGI!" _**End of flashback**

Atem looked down at the Millennium Puzzle. _If Pegasus' Eye could do such a thing as to seal a person's soul away, I wonder if my Puzzle could do the same thing. All the more reasons to keep this Puzzle close and away from evil hands._ He stared into the sunset, still lost in deep thoughts._ I don't know how I'm going to beat Pegasus this time, for all I know, he could've played me with a Test Deck, and as the creator of Duel Monsters, he could even now be creating new and powerful cards just for our next Duel. But I must try. I'm not going to hide! I'm going to fight to take back my Grandpa! Wait there, Pegasus!_

Not so far away, Joey arrived home to find a videotape waiting for him in the mail. He went inside and popped the video into the VCR and on screen, there was a face of someone of whom he knew well but haven't seen in years—his beloved little sister, Serenity! Only she was not so little anymore…

"Hey there, big brother Joey." Serenity greeted him. "How you been? I really miss you."

Joey stared into Serenity's face and felt mixed emotions—surprise, joy and terrible sadness. His heart aches as he remembered his little sister's bad eye sight. He remembers, as a ten-year-old boy, chasing after his mother's car as it drove away from him with Serenity in the backseat, Serenity was crying out to him. How could a mother be so cruel as to drive away from her sobbing son as he chase after her car, wanting to be with his sister? That is the reason he doesn't see eye-to-eye with his mother anymore.

"Serenity…" he murmured.

Serenity laughed. "I can't believe I haven't seen you since that day Mom took me away with her. It seems so long ago."

Joey remembers that day and he's never going to forget it!

**Flashback: **_"Brother!" cried a younger Serenity in the backseat of their mother's car._

_A younger Joey was running after her with tears in his eyes. "Serenity! NO!" _**End of Flashback**

"But I'm sorry that I can't see you." Serenity continued. "I really, really wanted to see you in person."

Joey stared at his sister, as if telling her without words that he wanted to see her too.

"I was hoping that maybe I'd be able to see you one last time." Serenity said. "Well, you know, or otherwise…"

_One last time?_ Joey thought with aching sadness in his heart. _Serenity_…

"Goodbye, much love, brother." Serenity said and then, the screen went blank.

Joey stared at the blank screen for a moment, wanting to call his sister back. Then he closed his eyes in a pained grimace. _Darn it!_

Meanwhile, Yugi returned home without Atem and found an envelope sticking in the door. It was addressed to "Pharaoh and Yugi Moto"

"Hey, what's this?" he asked, taking the envelope out of the door and opening it. Inside was what looked like Duel Monsters cards. He took one of the cards out, and gasped as he saw that these cards were not playable cards, they were an invitation and tournament information cards. "It's an invitation to the Kingdom!" he exclaimed, looking at the card showing a picture of a castle in the middle of an isolated island.

The next day at school, Yugi had these cards laid out on his desk for his friends to see. Joey, Tristan, Téa and Yugi were all huddled together, looking over these cards. Atem stood apart from them, staring intensely out of the window, deep in thoughts, his arms folded over his chest.

Téa glanced at Atem with concern. She leaned over to Yugi.

"Yugi, is Atem okay? He's been so quiet lately," she said.

"I don't think 'okay' is the right word, Téa." Yugi said, also glancing at his brother with concern. "He doesn't talk much at home anymore either, not since Grandpa…." He stopped speaking with a pained expression, tears started to fall.

Sensing his little brother's tears, Atem spoke for the first time in days.

"Don't worry, Yugi," he said. They looked at him for a few moments; finally he turned away from the window to smile gently at Yugi. "We'll rescue our Grandpa, no matter what it takes. But we both need to be strong if we're going to take down Pegasus."

"You're both going?" asked Téa.

Yugi nodded, looking solemn. "Apparently that's why we received two Duel gloves and four Star Chips," he held up the card with a picture of a Duel glove, surrounded by stars. "According to this card, all Duelists are given two Star Chip and they grant you entry onto the ship that leaves from the Domino Piers a week from today and into the Duelist Kingdom."

"So the tournament is taking place on some island?" Joey asked looking at the cards.

"Is your Grandpa there?" Téa asked.

"I don't know," Yugi said sadly. "But there's nothing we could do but go and see."

"Oh, he's there, I know it." Atem stated firmly. "I have a very powerful feeling that he's there. And I will not rest until we get Grandpa back home safely."

"Oh! I forgot to ask," Téa said. "What did the doctors at the hospital say about Grandpa? …When you took him there, I mean."

"Not much, just that they think he's in a coma." Atem said sadly. "Apparently, without your soul and if your body's still functioning, the doctors will think you're in a coma or something."

"Man, I still can't believe that Pegasus took your Grandpa without us even noticing." Tristan said. "He's not an ordinary fellow, for sure.

"You've said it, Tristan." Atem agreed. "But then again, I'm starting to think that anyone with a Millennium Item is anything but ordinary."

"I wish all of us could go…" Tristan said, picking up two cards from the desk and looking at them. "Hey, check this out! The Glory of the King's Hand card says 'Vast Prize'."

"Vast prize?" asked Joey, his interest in the Duelist Kingdom tournament aroused for the first time.

"Who cares?" Atem said spitefully. "I'm not going after some stupid prize. All I want is to get Grandpa back safely."

"Same here," agreed Yugi. "But the card probably means that the winner of the tournament will get a huge amount in prize money."

"Vast prize?" Joey repeated. And he snatched the card from Tristan. "Let me see dat!" and he gazed at the card as if it would make all of his dreams come true. "Vast prize…."

"Uh, Joey...?" Yugi said, as if worried for Joey's mental health.

But Joey was no longer paying attention. "Dat's right… vast prize…"

Later that evening found Joey sitting on the school's roof, watching the sunset.

"Joey?" it was Atem, followed by Yugi, both brothers looking concerned.

"What's with you?" asked Yugi, sitting down next to Joey while Atem remained standing.

"Look," Joey said, looking at the sunset. "What a pretty sunset, huh?"

"Yes," Atem agreed. "It's beautiful. But what are you doing up here? I highly doubt that you came up here just to watch the sunset."

"I have a lot on my mind," Joey admitted. "I came up here ta think."

"Well then, what's on your mind, Joey?" Atem asked.

"Different stuffs." Joey replied, still looking out into the horizon. "You guys, you and your Grandpa taught me da Heart of the Duel. I'm really grateful for dat. I mean dat."

"We know." Yugi said.

"Do your thing," Joey said. "Go and get your Grandpa back."

Yugi nodded solemnly and then sat down next to Joey, saying: "I'm really glad that we met, Joey."

"What's got into you?" Joey asked, as Atem stood on his other side, leaning against the wall, watching the sunset with his arms crossed.

"I was putting the Millennium Puzzle together," Yugi said, looking across Joey at Atem, who was proudly wearing the Millennium Puzzle. "It was going to be a birthday present for Atem, so I worked hard to put it together in time to present it to him on our birthday."

**Flashback: **_Yugi was showing Téa the gold pieces of a puzzle inside a golden box and Yugi was in the process of putting the Puzzle together. _**End of flashback. **

"It was my gift to my big brother; I didn't know what it looks like, because I hadn't put it together yet. It is what is seen yet unseen. I wished on the Puzzle that we would both have a best friend. I felt that the Puzzle would make my wish come true. That's when I met you and Tristan."

**Flashback:**_ Joey and Tristan were running away with the Puzzle pieces and Yugi was chasing them. Atem, standing hidden beside the lockers, stuck out his foot, tripping Joey, who fell against Tristan, causing him to fall as well. The Puzzle pieces shattered all over the floor. _

"_What have I told you about tormenting my brother?" Atem asked, staring down at them with a fierce look. "Don't you two have anything better to do with your time than bullying someone who is smaller than you? You two are nothing but cowards! Try picking on me, I would at least give you a challenge, as it's two on one."_

_Joey and Tristan looked up at Atem with fear and respect in their eyes._

"_Atem, uh….we weren't bullying your brother…" Tristan said._

"_Yeah, we were only teasing him, tryin' to make a man outta' him." Joey added._

_But Atem's gaze intensified and they fell silence. _

"_There's a thin line between teasing and bullying." Atem told them. "And I told you before; you can't bully someone into being a man. Everyone grows at their own pace. Just let them grow naturally." _

"_Al-alright, Atem." Joey said nervously, remembering his own protectiveness he had for his sister, Serenity. A brother protecting a younger sibling is never a pretty sight and he didn't want to be on the receiving end of it. "We get it, won't mess with your brother anymore." _

"_Good, now go!" Atem ordered, and Joey and Tristan scrambled to get away from him as fast as they could._

_When they were alone, Joey revealed to Tristan that he took one piece of the Puzzle. Tristan became frightened._

"_You'd better give that back, man!" Tristan cried, freaking out. "Who knows what that Atem guy will do to us!" _

"_Ah, how's he's gonna know?" asked Joey. "They won't know until they get down to da last piece and they still won't know who took it." And then Joey threw the piece out the window, where it landed in the school swimming pool. _**End of Flashback.**

"Oh, man, then it must've been the worst encounter." Joey said, smiling guiltily at the memory. "Man, oh man. I was irritated at seeing you being so introverted." He had another flashback of himself throwing a piece of the Puzzle out the window.

"And then, Ushio came along to take my money, pretending that he protecting me from you…." Yugi said, apparently lost in memories.

**Flashback:** _A tall, muscular, towing figure of Ushio stood over Joey and Tristan and then he proceeded to beat the stuffing out of them._

_Battered and bruised, Joey and Tristan sat on floor up against the wall. And Yugi came in and yelled for Ushio to stop._

"_Well, Yugi. You need to pay up." Ushio said. "Your bodyguard fee sums up to two thousand dollars."_

"_No! No way!" Yugi cried, horrified by Ushio's actions against Joey and Tristan. He didn't even ask for his bodyguard services and Ushio expects him to pay two thousand dollars! _

_Now Ushio stood over Yugi. "This is an opportunity to let go of your grudge. You should punch these guys, also!"_

"_Stop it!" Yugi yelled up at him as he stood between him and the two soon-to-be-friends with his arms spread out. "How could I do such a thing to my friends?"_

_Joey lifted his head at the sound of the word 'friends', wondering if he had heard that correctly. Ugh, Ushio must have hit him harder than he thought…_

_Ushio laughed. "What a naïve guy. I'll give you some of the same."_

_Ushio drew back a massive fist, but someone grabbed his wrist, preventing him hitting Yugi._

"_What the—?" he caught a glimpse of Atem's fierce, angry face before Atem's fist made contact with his face! He was punched so hard that he thrown to the concrete floor and couldn't get up. _

"_Consider that a warning, Ushio." Atem said angrily. "Keep your hands off my brother, you overgrown oaf of a coward!"_

"_Atem!" Yugi cried with delight._

"_M-me…? A….a c-coward?" Ushio uttered through pain as he struggled to get up._

"_Yes, Ushio, a coward." Atem said with contempt in his voice. "You know, the kind of coward that takes delight in assaulting the weak and the small." He turned to Yugi. "Yugi, are you alright?"_

_Yugi nodded. "Yeah, thanks to you."_

"_Good," Atem said with a smile, and then he looked over at Joey and Tristan and moved forward toward them. "Wish I'd got here sooner. Are you alright, you two?" _

_He helped Joey and Tristan to their feet. _

"_Y-yeah…. we're pretty banged up… but we'll be alright." Joey said with pained grimace, holding his ribs as he stood there._

"_Good, I'll see you later." Atem said, and he walked back over to Ushio. He grabbed Ushio by the ear and started to pull him along down the hall. "You're coming with me, Ushio."_

_In too much pain by his hard fall to the concrete floor to resist, Ushio had no choice but to let himself be led to the principal's office. It was a somewhat comical scene. A big bad Ushio bent double, his ear in the grasp of someone two feet shorter than him._

_The principal expelled Ushio, after being told the story and seeing Joey and Tristan's injuries for himself. And Atem received a special award for services to the school. _

_Afterward, after having seen a nurse, Joey went to the pool and got the piece of the Millennium Puzzle back for Yugi._

_After all was said and done, he said to Yugi: "I've decided that I too should have a treasure."_

"_Really, Joey?" asked Yugi. "Well, let me see!" _

_Joey laughed. "Sorry, but my treasure is also what is seen and yet unseen. I can't show it to ya." Seeing as Yugi looked confused, he went on. "Just like friendship, we can see each other, but we can't see friendship_

_Yugi, looking very pleased, nodded in agreement. _

**End of Flashback.**

"What? Are you sure I really said corny stuff like that?" Joey asked.

"Yeah," Yugi said, and then he looked sad. "I wish I could bring a friend along with me. Sure, I'll have Atem, but I also want a friend to be with me too."

"Don't be discouraged." Joey said. "Our hearts are always with ya."

Atem nodded in agreement. "Joey's right, Yugi. As long as we have our bond of friendship, we're never too far away."

"Yeah, you both should be happy." Joey added.

"Thanks guys." Yugi said, "I'll do my best."

A week later found Atem and Yugi standing on the Domino Piers at nine-thirty p.m., where an enormous ship was docked.

A guy with a pointy hairstyle and sunglasses stood on the side of the boat between two other goons, addressing the Duelists on the dock below.

"Attention all chosen Duelists," he said. "Welcome to the event sponsored by the Industrial Illusions. You're all elite. Chosen by us after close observation of your past Duels."

_…And then we kidnapped your Grandpa's soul and forced you into participating … _Atem thought bitterly, mentally adding on to the goon's speech.

"You each have a fair and equal chance to win." Kemo, the guy with the pointy hair, continued. "It all comes down to how well you've chosen your cards and how well you play. Well then, Duelists, you may cross the ocean and enter the Duelist Kingdom!"

All Duelists lined up and one-by-one, they presented themselves and their invitations to a couple of guys at a table next to the boat's entrance.

Atem and Yugi were standing in line when they heard shouts.

"YOU! Where are your Star Chips?"

"Oh, bend a rule or two, will ya?" said a familiar voice.

"Oh, no! Somebody take this guy out."

Atem and Yugi saw Joey being 'escorted' away from the boat by two goons.

"Let me onboard! I'm a student of the Pharaoh!" Joey yelled. "Ya know, the one who defeated Kaiba!"

"Yeah…" one of the goons sneered. "And I'm the President of United States…let's get this guy outta here."

"Joey!" Yugi exclaimed, getting out of line and went over to help his friend, Atem followed.

"You should go home before you get hurt," said Goon One

"Sounds good," Joey said, putting on his tough-guy face. "I'll fight ya if you think ya can handle me."

"Hey!" Atem said loudly, entering the scene with much authority in his voice. "Unhand my student, right now!"

"It's the Pharaoh!" one of goons exclaimed. They both released Joey and bowed their heads to a startled Atem, who hadn't expected this kind of behavior. "Many apologies, Pharaoh. We did not know this guy was a student of yours, sir.

"Whoa, it looks like you have quite a reputation, Pharaoh." Yugi said, while Atem looked very uncomfortable with being treated like royalty.

"Uh, right…." Atem muttered, and then he cleared his throat and addressed the goons. "Let my student onboard, this tournament is his chance to prove himself as a True Duelist."

"I'm afraid we cannot do that," said Goon One.

"Yeah, and the rules clearly states only Duelists with a Star Chip can get onboard," said Goon Two. "No exception."

"But Joey has a Star Chip," Yugi said, and he held out a single golden star to Joey.

"I do?" Joey said, stunned as Yugi placed the Star Chip in his palm. "What…?"

"According to this card," Yugi explained, holding up the card with the image of a Dueling Glove, surrounded by stars. "A Star Chip proves one is a Duelist."

"That may be," said Goon Two. "But all participants are given two Star Chips."

"I know," Yugi said solemnly. "But I would rather take that disadvantage than be without Joey and Pharaoh both by my side."

"Yugi…" murmured Joey, touched.

"What do we do?" Goon One asked Goon Two.

Goon Two got his cellphone out, about to make a call.

"Don't bother your boss with such a small matter," Atem said to the goons, smirking as he led Joey with him and Yugi back to the line. "After all, Joey isn't breaking any rules. He has a Star Chip; therefore he's liable to enter this tournament."

Meanwhile, Tristan and Téa were sneaking onto the boat by hiding inside a cargo crate.

Atem, Yugi and Joey stood apart from everybody else, standing on the edge of the boat as the boat begin to glide across the waters, away from the piers.

"I'm really glad they let you onboard, Joey." Yugi said.

"Pegasus seems to do a nice thing once in a while." Joey said.

A young woman with long, thick blond hair, wearing a miniskirt and carrying a rucksack on her back was walking along. She stopped when noticed Atem, Yugi and Joey talking. "Ahh…"

"Yugi, I know I owe you for this for the rest of my life." Joey was saying.

"Don't worry about it." Yugi told him.

"Hmm…" said the woman interestedly.

The boat continues to glide smoothly away from the shore.

"This is exciting, isn't it, Atem?" Joey said.

The reaction Joey got from this one statement took Joey by the surprise. Atem and Yugi gasped and Atem jumped on Joey, his hand at Joey's mouth.

"Shh! Not so loud!" Yugi told him,

"Joey, when we're among Duelist, always address me as Pharaoh." Atem told him as he released Joey. "I worked so hard to keep my true identity a secret from Duelists and fan girls. You don't know how annoying it is to have them following you everywhere and then having them throw themselves at you every chance they get! It used to drive me up the wall!"

"Oh, sorry, Pharaoh…." Joey said sheepishly. "But how do ya keep it a secret if your two identities have the same face?"

"It's not easy, but manageable." Atem replied. "No one at school knows I'm Pharaoh unless they saw me at a tournament, and no outside Duelists know my true name, so they can't track me to my home and stalk me all day. I've kept to myself most of time, riding my motorbike, playing Duel Monsters or helping Grandpa in the shop. It gets lonesome after a while, I'm very fortunate to have friends like you, Téa and Tristan." He then chuckles and added: "You three and Yugi keep me sane."

Yugi laughed. "I'm glad we help keep you sane then, Pharaoh."

"I can't believe what I'm seeing," said a voice behind them. They turned to see the blond young woman with the rucksack standing there. "Hey there, Pharaoh. Congratulations on finally beating Kaiba. Big-Ego-Boy needed to be put in his place."

"Thank you, Mai," Atem said humbly.

"Whoa! What a babe!" Joey exclaimed, going all goggle-eyed over the glamorous Mai. "OW!"

Atem had elbowed Joey in the rib. "Is that any way to greet a lady, Joey? Where are your manners?"

"What manners?" Joey asked, confused.

Atem sighed deeply. "Figures….You're clueless with the ladies. Okay, lesson one: They do not appreciate being referred to as a 'babe'."

"Oh," Joey said, looking embarrassed. Turning to Mai, he bowed his head. "Please forgive my rudeness, ma'am."

"Alright, I'll let it slide this time," Mai said, and then she winked. "Mostly because I think you're kinda cute."

Joey was delighted to hear that. "Whoa, she thinks I'm cute! Yugi, pinch me, I must be dreaming!"

Yugi just stared awkwardly at his best friend and does nothing.

"Oh, and who do we have here?" Mai said, bending down toward Yugi. "Are you Pharaoh's little brother?"

Yugi blushed. This was a rather attractive woman, after all.

"Y-y-yes…" he stammered. "But how did you know?"

She winked again. "I'm psychic… but then again, I don't need to be to tell that you're related. Your somewhat matching hairstyle is a huge giveaway."

_She's right!_ Atem thought. _It looks like keeping my identity a secret is going to be harder in this tournament… Curse you, Pegasus!_

"Yes, Mai, this is my brother, Yugi." Atem said. "But I would appreciate it if you would keep this quiet."

Mai considered this for a moment and then she said: "Alright, I won't tell…. On one condition: You tell me your true name." Atem gasped quietly, can he trust Mai? He guessed it was worth a shot. "Don't worry, I won't tell if you told me what it is."

"Alright Mai," Atem sighed. "My name is Atem Muto."

"Okay, I'm true to my words, I won't repeat it."

"Hey Miss, I'm a student of the Pharaoh, the master Duelist," Joey said, trying to her attention. "And I—"

Mai glanced at him and then look back at Atem and Yugi. "Remember Pharaoh, no matter who I face in a Duel—shrimp or otherwise—I show no mercy. I crush them all."

Yugi shrunk a little, feeling intimidated by this older and much taller woman. He wondered briefly whether the 'shrimp' part was directed at him….

Mai turned and walked away.

Joey, still under Cupid's spell, watched her go. "Oh, I wanna Duel _her!_"

Mai paused. "The name's Mai Valentine. See you later, boys."

As Mai walked away, Tristan and an angry Téa were watching them from their hiding place and witnessed their whole encounter with Mai.

"What was that?" flumed Téa. "We sneaked on to help them win the contest, and they gets flustered by that—"

"Quiet! They'll hear you!" Tristan hissed at her.

"Men!" Téa said in a furious whisper. "You're all unbelievable! At least Atem has enough class not to get distracted by that—!"

"I said, quiet!" Tristan said again, and she fell silence, still fluming.

In the main room where the majority of the guests were gathered together, trading cards and talking, Joey was causing a scene.

"Hey! Is this a joke?" he demanded of some random goon. "Why do we have to sleep in the steerage on such a luxurious cruiser?"

Atem saw another goon coming at Joey, but he held up a hand to the goon, signaling him to stop.

"It's okay, I'll explain it to him," he told the goons. "He's with me, he is my student."

The goons nodded and went on to tend to other matters on the ship.

"Joey," Atem said, turning to face his slightly wayward student. "We did not pay for this trip, so we don't get a luxurious room. Remember, this ride was paid for by Pegasus. And since we didn't pay for this ride, we have no choice on our sleeping arrangements."

"It still stinks…." Joey said stubbornly. "I know they have better cabins!"

"No one's disagreeing with you, Joey, but that's just the way it is." Atem said patiently. "You want a luxurious room, pay for one. Otherwise you get what they give you. Just be thankful we're not sleeping in a lifeboat or in the cleaning closet."

Just then Weevil Underwood and Rex Raptor walked in side by side.

Weevil gasped when he saw Atem. "Hey, it's the Pharaoh!"

Yugi turned to see who had spoken. "Hey, I know you!"

"Weevil Underwood and Rex Raptor!" Joey said excitedly.

Atem appeared slightly annoyed by the appearance of Weevil and Rex, nevertheless, he said: "Hi."

"What are you doing here, Pharaoh?" Weevil asked. "I haven't seen you since Kaiba defeated you. Oh, and congratulations on beating Kaiba the second time."

"Thank you," Atem said. "I'm here to further my student's training. I find that actual Duels are the best teachers." And he left it at that, Weevil didn't need to know the rest.

"Oh, how true," Weevil agreed. "You can teach a rookie all the rules and tactics, but you can't truly teach them to Duel, they have to learn that by actually playing through the Duels."

"Yes, that is correct." Atem said.

"I think even you would find this tournament a new experience, Pharaoh." Weevil said with his usual evil-looking leer. "There are new special rules and gameplay in this tournament, but I haven't been able to figure them out yet.

"Eh, I don't mind the rules," Rex said. "It's either crush or be crushed. It's one or the other."

"Dat's right!" said Joey approvingly. "You seem to be a tough guy. I like you."

"Thanks," Rex said and then he turned. "I'm leaving now to go back to my cabin and relax."

In jealousy of Rex's luxurious room, Joey said: "I don't like 'im after all, he makes me mad."

"Yugi, Joey, I'm going to get a glass of water," Atem said. "I'll be right back."

On the way to his cabin, Rex saw Mai giving a goon a piece of her mind.

"This is truly, truly outrageous!" Mai was saying, getting right up in the guy's face and stepping forward whenever he made a step backward. "You expect a lady like me to stay in this dump without a shower?"

"Rules are rules, ma'am" the goon said meekly, he clearly lack the courage to deal with the wrath of Mai Valentine. "There's nothing I can do."

"Call your superior!" Mai demanded

Rex walked over to them and addressed Mai. "Keep acting up and they'll throw you off the boat," he said.

Mai looked down at him. "What are you?"

"Why don't you come back to my private room?" Rex offered.

"How nice! Really?" Mai asked from behind her hand.

"You betcha!" laughed Rex.

In Rex's luxurious cabin, Rex sat down on the sofa.

"So tell me what you think of my cool digs?" he asked Mai.

Mai looked around, impressed with this room. "It's beautiful. You must be quite a strong card player," she said, flattering him so she could get under his guard.

"Maybe." Rex said, looking pleased with the compliment.

Mai smiled as though she was thinking: _The trap is set…_

"I love strong men," she said, setting down her rucksack and sitting opposite Rex across the carpet table. "Men who are stronger than I, that is."

"Who do you think you're talking to?" Rex asked cockily. "There's no way you can beat me."

"Say, what do you say if we dueled?" Mai asked.

"What?"

"I'd do anything you want if you won, hmm?" Mai continued.

Rex grinned as several ideas went chasing themselves around in his head.

Mai produced her Duel Monsters Deck, shuffled it thoroughly and then pushed it across the table to Rex, saying. "Okay, cut the cards."

"Alright, let's start" Rex said, he picked up half of the Deck and set it to the side and then he set the other half of the Deck on top. _Tonight is the best night of my life!_ He thought as he picked up the Deck. "That's good," he said and he tried to hand it back to Mai but Mai was sitting up straight with her arms and legs crossed.

"Do you want me to tell you those cards from the top without looking at them?" Mai asked

"What?" said Rex. "Nobody can do such a thing."

Mai smiled and then closed her eyes. "The top one is Shadow of Eye."

"How did you do that?" Rex asked as he drew the top card and saw that it was indeed the Shadow of Eye trap card. "What is this?"

"The second one is Harpie Lady," Mai continued with her eyes still closed. "Next is Elegant Egotist. Followed by Cyber Shield."

Rex laid these cards on the table as Mai correctly call them out one-by-one.

"That can't be!" exclaimed Rex, looking a little more than nervous.

"This is my card technique," Mai told him. "I always know what cards I have and can pick any one of them I like at any time. So, you ready to Duel? And leave the room when you lose."

Rex was starting to sweat. "Uh-oh, I think I'm in trouble…" he stated nervously.

The Duel that followed was a quick one; it has to be a record! No one had beaten Rex Raptor that fast!

His head was still spinning as Mai threw him out into the hallway with his cards flying everywhere.

"Get out, loser!" Mai said, setting Rex's rucksack on the hallway floor. "That was easier than I thought." And she closed and locked the door.

Elsewhere on the ship, Atem was walking down the deck, handing for the dining hall. He was half way there when he noticed Tristan and Téa lurking in the shadows.

"Téa, Tristan?" Atem said as he walked over to them.

Téa shrieked, alarmed at being caught, but relaxed when she saw it was only Atem. Tristan, however, froze like a block of ice.

"Oh, Atem, you scared us!" Téa panted.

"What are you two doing here?" he asked them. "And how did you get onboard?"

"Please, Atem, we were worried about you and Yugi going by yourselves." Téa said. "So we hid in the cargoes and got on the boat. We wanted to be with you guys,"

"Yeah," Tristan said. "We wanted to make sure you two and Joey get there and back in one piece."

Atem looked from one to the other at them. "You two shouldn't be here." They hung their heads. "But I'm glad you're here. Follow me to our cabin. We must hurry before you two are spotted."

Atem led Tristan and Téa back the way he had come. They were passing the place where he left Yugi and Joey, when they heard a commotion.

"NO!" Yugi was yelling. "My cards!"

Atem saw Weevil throwing a few cards overboard and rage reared inside him like a snake.

He marched over to the scene of the crime. Weevil was cackling and walking away.

Yugi was looking over the rail at the edge of the ship.

"Those were the Exodia cards that my Grandpa left me!" he cried.

"Darn it!" Joey yelled as he jumped off the ship.

"JOEY, NO!" shouted Atem in horror, running toward Yugi with Tristan and Téa running along behind him. He reached the rails and looked down to see Joey, a hundred feet below, struggling against the ocean to get Yugi's cards back for him. "JOEY, GET BACK UP HERE NOW!"

"No… wait…. I'll ge 'em!" Joey said, and grabbed a card from the water. "Look I got one 'em!"

Atem had had enough of this; this was just plain suicide, and over some cards! At moments like these, he would question Joey's sanity. But now was not the time. He looked around and saw some ropes, curled up on the floor like a snake. He rushed over to the ropes and picked them up.

"Your life is more valuable than those cards!" Yugi yelled at Joey.

Atem stood next to Yugi, tying the rope around his waist, while Tristan tied the opposite end of the rope to the rail. And then, Atem dived off the ship like a bungee jumper.

_Splast! _He hit the water and begins swimming toward a semi-conscious Joey.

"Atem, just three more," he said weakly, and he fainted and slipped beneath the surface.

"JOEY!" Atem yelled and he dived in under the water, after Joey. When he reached Joey, he circled around him, his rope making a loop around Joey's waist. Then he took hold of Joey and pulled him back up to the surface.

They both gasped and panted as their heads broke the surface, and then Atem tugged hard on the rope three times. On the ship, Tristan, Téa and Yugi begin pulling on the rope, reeling Atem and Joey in. To make it easier on them, Atem begin pulling himself and Joey up while walking on the side of ship like a mountaineer climbing up a mountain.

Tristan and Téa pulled Joey over the rail, and Atem climbed over the rail without assistance.

Joey was on all fours, coughing, surrounded by his friends.

Yugi kneeled at Joey's side and patted him on the back.

"Joey, are you okay?" he asked.

"I'm sorry, Yugi..." Joey said sadly, handing Yugi two saggy wet cards, an arm and a leg of Exodia. "I only managed to get two out of your five cards ya need."

"It's okay, Joey." Yugi said.

"It's not okay!" Joey shouted in frustration. "It's always this way with me. I'm never able to help anybody…. Not even my own sister."

Atem didn't know what to say to that. He never knew Joey felt this way. Indeed, before they became friends, he'd thought that Joey was the last person to want to help anybody.

"What are you talking about?" asked Yugi.

"Really, you have a sister, Joey?" Téa asked.

"Our parents got a divorce when we were little," Joey explained. "She lives far away with my mother. My sister has really bad sights since she was born…eventually she'll go blind!"

Atem gasped in shock. He glanced at Yugi, imagining how he'd feel if his younger brother was in danger of going blind… He blinked away his tears and closed his eyes with his head bowed, as though in prayer.

"She just sent me a video," Joey said, having a flashback of watching the video and then some with him and Serenity playing in the playground together. "The doctor might've told her that the time has come, soon her eyes will be impossible to repair, even with surgery."

Téa has tears in her eyes as she listened to this story, Tristan looked solemn, as if he were visiting the grave of a close friend. Atem and Yugi looked sympathetic and sad.

"But there's one specialist in Germany who can do the procedure," Joey went on. "He has the latest technology, too. If I can just send her there! Only problem is she needs an operation, but there's no way I can pay for it!" Tears started to fall from Joey's eyes. "Winning in the Duelist Kingdom and gettin' the prize money, is the only way I can help Serenity!"

Later, the five friends stood alone at the front of the ship, watching the sun raising over the island that was Duelist Kingdom.

"We'll all do our best, Joey." Yugi said.

"Yes, you for your sister, and us for our Grandpa," Atem said.

"That's right." Téa said encouragingly. "We're behind you guys all the way.

"Look, there's the island!" Tristan said, pointing.

Yugi glared at the island, thinking: _Weevil Underwood, you're going down first in the Kingdom! _

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: Hey, guys, I hope you've enjoyed this episode. I might be able to add new episodes weekly, I certainly hope I can, Next episode is gonna be exciting! Yugi vs. Weevil! That would be something to see, Yugi taking on Weevil for a change rather than Atem! Stay tuned for the next exciting episode of Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Bonds of Brotherhood! <strong>


	4. Episode Four: Yugi vs Weevil

**Yu-Gi-Oh! The Bonds of Brotherhood**

**Theme Song: One Card Short**

_Life's just a game. We all wanna win._

_Keep your hand a secret, unleash the monsters within!_

_Sometimes it's over before it's even begun._

_If someone else gets hurt then, what have you really won?_

_I'm always one card short, always one day late!_

_For once I'd like an ending I can celebrate._

_Stacked the deck myself, so there's no one else to blame._

_I need just one more move, one final chance to prove_

_I can win this game._

_Life's just a duel, that's how the world is made._

_But are we really players, or are we being played?_

_I'm always one card short, always one day late!_

_For once I'd like an ending I can celebrate._

_Stacked the deck myself, so there's no one else to blame._

_I need just one more move, one final chance to prove_

_I can win this game._

_One card short, one day late!_

_Give me somethin', somethin' to celebrate!_

_Stacked the deck myself so there's no one else to blame._

_One more move I'm gonna win this game._

_I'm gonna win this game._

_I'm gonna win this game!_

_One more move, I'll win this game._

* * *

><p><strong>Episode Four: Yugi vs. Weevil<strong>

* * *

><p>Seagulls flew around the Duelist Kingdom ship as it glided across the seawaters toward the island. There were about a dozen or more of them flying overhead. The Muto brothers and friends stood on the nose of the ship, looking out toward the island as it drew nearer and nearer.<p>

"Yugi, we're here!" Joey said.

"So that's Duelist Kingdom." Yugi said, watching the island draw closer.

Atem stood with a focused, serious expression, his arms crossed.

_This is it_, he thought as he took out his Duel Monsters Deck and stared at his Dark Magician card_. Our battle is beginning. My monster cards are my swords and my Spell and Trap cards are my shields against the army of Duelists that Pegasus is likely to send our way._

The ship finally docked at the harbor of the island, the anchor dropped into the water and the Duelist started getting off. There were many goons surrounding the ship, supervising the Duelists and helping them get off the ship

Tristan suddenly looked worried. "Hey, Téa," he whispered. "What happens if they want to check our Star Chips again? I mean, after all, we're stowaways, you know."

"Don't worry," Téa told him, but Tristan still look nervous and tensed. "They've already checked once. We'll be fine, just as long as you stay calm."

Yugi and Joey were already walking off the ship, Téa followed. Atem observed Tristan as he made his way stiffly toward the boat ramp leading off the ship and onto the island.

"Tristan," Atem said. Tristan cringed and stood frozen as a statue, his body all tensed and nerve-wrecking. Atem placed a comforting hand on Tristan's shoulder. "Tristan, you need to relax. If you walk stiffly off this ship, you're going to draw attention to yourself. Loosen up and pretend you're one of the Duelists, all fired up and ready to Duel!"

"O-okay, Atem…. I-I'll try…." Tristan said nervously. He took a deep breath, and then he let out a loud war cry and went charging off the ship, yelling: "I'M READY TO DUEL! DUEL ME NOW!"

"Ugh!" Atem grunted, placing a hand on his forehead in annoyance and embarrassment. "We're doomed…'Pretend you're one of the Duelists, all fired up and ready to Duel,' what was I thinking?" and then he took off running after Tristan. "Tristan, get back here!"

Yugi, Joey and Téa, who were halfway off the ship when they heard Tristan charging after them, they barely had time to turn around when Tristan ran past them. Atem was hot on his heels. He grabbed Tristan by the shoulder and forced him to stop and turned him around to face him.

"Tristan, get a hold of yourself." Atem told him, shaking him a little. He noticed the Duelists and some of the goons were staring at them from below. "You're drawing attention to yourself, the very opposite of what you were trying to achieve. Now walk like I do and follow my lead."

Atem let go of Tristan and walked the rest of the way down the ramp without fear, as if this was a merely an enjoyable picnic he was walking to. Tristan mimicked Atem, though still sweating bullets.

They made it onto the island and past Pegasus' goons without any problems, though some of them did looks suspicious of them after Tristan's blunder, but didn't do anything.

"Attention all Duelists," Kemo called, and he pointed up at the castle. "That castle gate will be our meeting place."

"So that's Pegasus' castle..." Yugi said.

"Well what're we waitin' for?" said Joey. "Let's go!"

And they dashed up the stone steps toward the castle.

"Wow, look at all the Duelists here!" said one boy.

"Look over there! It's the American champion Weevil Underwood and the runner-up Rex Raptor!" said another.

"And Mako Tsunami, he took third place. But I heard the Pharaoh is here too, he must be really good to be able to beat Kaiba! One of those guys are bound to win!"

"The Pharaoh?! WHERE?!" cried a slim boy, who was about Yugi's size and ten years of age. He had light green hair and a kind face, giving the impression of being a nice, polite boy. "Oh my gosh! There he is!" and he dashed over to Atem and stopped in front of him. "Um, hi, Pharaoh," he said with nervous excitement.

"Hi, what can I do for you?" Atem asked kindly, knowing that he'd better set a good example to this kid if the boy had marked him as his hero.

"Pharaoh, I'm a big fan of yours," the boy said, looking delighted to be on speaking terms with the Pharaoh. He fished from his pocket, a Duel Monster card and a pen. "Would you sign my Dark Magician card, please?"

Atem accepted the card and pen and looked at the card. This Dark Magician must have been a reprint; it was different from his own Dark Magician. Atem's Dark Magician was photographed in an attacking stance with a yellow Arcana Circle in the background. This card had an image of the Dark Magician standing up straight with red outlines on his purple robe and hat. Atem noticed that this Dark Magician had blond hair insTéad of blue. The Arcana Circle in the background of this Dark Magician was slightly smaller.

"Yes, of course I will," he said. "What is your name?"

"Oh! Um, my name's Gary, sir," he said with nervous excitement, as he was about to get his favorite card autographed by his favorite Duelist.

"Okay, Gary," Atem said and he started writing on the card below the Dark Magician's picture, inside the card's description square. "Is this your first big tournament?"

Gary nodded. "It's my first tournament ever; my friend says I was pretty good and asked me to come along. We had to share his Star Chips between us though, I didn't get one."

"Well, I wish you the best of luck in this tournament, Gary." Atem said, smiling as he handed Gary back his card and pen.

Gary took back his card and read what Atem had written with excitement and glee.

_Gary, whether you win or lose, Duel your hardest and never give up. Great things come for those who never give up and Duel with honor and respect._

— _Pharaoh_

Atem would have written more if he had enough room in the card's description box to write it in.

Gary read the card and looked up at Atem, and Atem saw the wonder in his eyes.

"Wow," Gary murmured. "I'll treasure this card forever. Thank you, Pharaoh."

He hugged Atem around the waist and then hurried off to find his friend, leaving Atem feeling really good that he'd made a kid happy. Little did Atem know that that card will give Gary comfort, determination, inspiration and courage in all his future Duels, causing Gary to fight till the very end.

"Aww, that was sweet of you, Atem," Téa said admirably. "You really made his day."

Atem just smiled, feeling good about himself as he turned to look at Téa.

"Yes, I always treat my fans well, whether they annoy me or not." Atem said. "But a fan like Gary makes being a Duelist the best thing in the world. It is rather satisfying knowing that I helped lift their spirits as a Duelist. And by the way, Téa…" he added sternly. "While we're on this island, don't call me 'Atem,' call me Pharaoh."

"Oh, right…sorry, Pharaoh." Téa said, looking sheepish,

"Attention Duelists!" called Kemo. "Pegasus will now explain the Duel rules to you!"

"Finally, Pegasus makes his lived appearance…" Joey muttered.

Pegasus walked out onto the front balcony, looking down on all the Duelists who had come to attend his tournament.

_Pegasus! The man who used shadow powers to seal up our Grandpa's soul! _Yugi thought with his fist clenched.

Atem glared up at Pegasus with anger. _Pegasus! By the end of this tournament, one shall stand, one shall fall. And it will be you who falls._

_So you did come, Pharaoh. _Pegasus thought, looking down at him. _And you brought your little brother to the tournament, too. Excellent, everything is going according to plans. _

Pegasus spread his arms wide in welcome. "Welcome, each and every one of you to Duelist Kingdom!" he said in a loud voice, and he allowed the Duelists to cheer before continuing. "So, time to explain the rules to everyone. All Duels will perform using Duel Monsters' cards. Life Points are set at two thousand and direct attacks against players are forbidden. Fight as much as you like using your strongest card deck." He then held up a Duel Glove in one hand and two Star Chips in the other. "All participants should have already received a Duel Glove and two Star Chips."

As Pegasus said this, Atem and Yugi both fitted their hands into their Duel Gloves

"The wristband of each glove has ten holes," Pegasus continued. "Fitted for inserting Star Chips." He held up one Star Chip high. "These Star Chips are proof that you are a True Duelist, and you will wager these Star Chips on each of your Duels."

_So, the loser of a Duel surrenders to the winner the amount of Star Chips that both players agreed to wager for that Duel. And once you lose all of your Star Chips, you're no longer qualified to Duel._ Atem thought as he listened to the rules, then he glanced at Yugi and Joey_. Those two has better be careful, with only one Star Chip each; both cannot afford to lose their first Duel._

"The entire island will serve as a stage for your Duels." Pegasus said. "This will be a battle-royal championship, with only Duelists holding ten Star Chips allowed to enter this gate. The Dueling will begin in just one hour. And all must end within forty-eight hours, at that time, players with less than ten Star Chips will be counted as losers and deported from this island. With that said, so forth and Duel with all of your strength."

Pegasus glanced in Atem and Yugi's direction, each of them thinking similar thoughts of determination to enter the castle. And then he turned and walked back into his castle, thinking that in order for them to face him, they will have to fight their way through all those others. Question was which one of those brothers will he face in the end?

Later, the Muto brothers and the gang stood alone apart from everybody else, talking.

"I'm sorry, Yugi." Joey said sadly, holding a Star Chip and was worried that he had hurt his friend's chances in this tournament. "You gave up one of your Star Chips for me."

"It's okay," Yugi said. "You have your reason for needing to win just as much as Atem and I do."

Atem nodded in agreement. "He's right, Joey. You're here to fight for your sister just as we're here to fight for our Grandpa. We are united in a common goal. We are here for a noble cause."

"Just go out there and do your very best, Joey." Téa said supportively. "We believe in you."

"I hope you know we're always behind you." Tristan said.

"Aw, thanks you guys." Joey said appreciatively. Then he turned back to Yugi. "Yugi, you know neither one of us can afford to lose our first Duel, right?"

"Right!" Yugi nodded.

Firecrackers, gunshots and thundering sounds filled the air as the fireworks started. Flashing lights of the firework were everywhere!

"The Duel has begun!" cried Yugi excitedly, and he and the gang begin walking along the island toward a forest.

"So what's the plan, Yugi?" Joey asked as Yugi seemed to be leading the way with a determined expression on his face.

"I've already decided," Yugi said, still leading the way. "I'm going to battle Weevil first."

"Dat's how it should be!" Joey said, delighted that Yugi was standing up for himself.

"Yes, Weevil has no honor or respect for other Duelists," Atem agreed. "He should be punished with a humiliating defeat. Make sure you knock him out of the competition with this one Duel, Yugi. That should Téach him, though I doubt it. He doesn't seem like the type to learn from mistakes."

"No, he really doesn't." Tristan agreed. "Even Joey seems to be smarter than him."

"Hey, Tristan, thanks pal….I think…." Joey said, not sure whether he should feel offended or not.

"Yugi, there's Weevil over there." Atem said, pointing.

Weevil was standing at the entrance to the forest.

"Weevil, I challenge you to a Duel!" Yugi called out to him, but Weevil turned on his heels and ran into the forest.

"Weevil!" Yugi yelled and he started running after him.

"Yugi," Atem said, running alongside his brother with their friends bringing up the rear. "What if Weevil is leading us into a trap?"

"Well, that's a risk I'm going to have to take," Yugi replied as he ran.

They were deep in the forest when a swarm of moths flew from the trees and their pathway was filled with flying moths. Behind him, Yugi could hear Téa exclaiming in disgust as they continue to follow Yugi in his pursuit of Weevil.

They reached a clearing to find Weevil standing there, waiting for them.

Weevil cackled gleefully. "So, you've flown right into my web…. Heh, heh heh. Which one of you should I Duel first? How about you, Pharaoh?"

Atem chuckled. "Trust me, Weevil, you wouldn't want to Duel me. I'd destroy you faster than you can blink in a Duel. Beside, I'm not the one with a score to settle with you."

Yugi stepped forward. "That's right, Weevil! You're Dueling me! It's time you answer for what you did back on the boat."

Weevil cackled wildly as he yelled out: "AS YOU WISH!"

The ground suddenly started shaking as though an earthquake was taking place. Then the ground behind Weevil split open and a Dueling Area rose up out of the ground and transformed itself, ready for use.

"Now, let's Duel!" Weevil cried as he ran to the blue platform and stood on it, and it rose up. On the opposite side, behind the red platform, Yugi rose up too. Both Duelists placed their Decks in the Deck Zone.

"Since you only have one Star Chip, I only have to wager one against you." Weevil said.

"Wrong, Weevil," Atem said from the sideline. "You'll wager two."

"And why should I wager two when he has only one?" Weevil asked. "What else does he have to offer?"

"My life as a Duelist," Yugi said solemnly, and he held up his Deck. "I'll wager my Deck too."

"So you'd risk your Dueling Deck? Heh-heh-heh, fine by me." Weevil said, cackling. "Since I'd be getting your Deck anyway, I wish I hadn't thrown away Exodia."

"DUEL!" The two Duelists yelled after drawing the five cards for their starting hand.

"I'll go first," Weevil said, he draws a card from his Deck. "I summon Killer Needle in attack mode!"

A gigantic bee appeared on the field. Yugi noticed right away from the opponent ATK display on the computer that Killer Needle had gained a thirty-percent power boost.

**Killer Needle ATK**: 1200 - 1560

"How did your monster just gotten stronger?" Yugi asked.

Weevil cackled as he replied, "My Killer Needle was strengthened by the field power bonus! My insect monsters gain a power bonus from the forest."

"Of course, that's why Pegasus chose an island for this tournament," Atem said, mostly for Joey's benefit. "A monster gains a home field advantage from the field it battles on, making that monster stronger. So wherever we choose to Duel on this island becomes important. Insect-type monsters are at their best in the forest, so it gains a thirty-percent power boost from the forest."

"So what does that means for Yugi?" asked Téa, "Is he going to lose?"

"It's too early to determine the outcome of this Duel, Téa," Atem said. "The field is sixty percent forest and forty percent wasteland, so there's a chance he might have monsters that can gain a bonus from the wasteland side of the field."

"It's my move, Weevil," Yugi said, drawing a card. "I summon Beta the Magnet Warrior."

**Beta the Magnet Warrior** **ATK**: 1700

"What? Oh no, my monster is toast!" exclaimed Weevil. "Even with the field power bonus!"

"Beta, attack that killer bee now!" Yugi ordered.

Beta attacks and destroyed Killer Needle.

**Weevil LP:** 1860

**Yugi LP:** 2000

"My turn, draw!" Weevil yelled, drawing a card from his Deck. "Now I play the spell card, Insect Barrier! Now you can't attack me with any insect-type monsters."

"But I don't have any insect-type…" Yugi said, looking confused.

"Now, I'll play the Petti Moth in attack position." Weevil said, ignoring Yugi. "And then, I place this one card face-down." _Once Yugi attacks, this trap card will be a real slap in the face! _"Your turn, Yugi."

Yugi draws his card. _I wonder why Weevil played such a weak monster as Petti Moth in attack position? Is he setting a trap for me? Only one way to find out…_

"I'm setting a monster in defense position," he said, place a monster card face-down. "And now, Beta the Magnet Warrior, attack Petti Moth."

"Heh-heh-heh-heh! You fell right into my trap!" Weevil shouted in delight. "Go, DNA Surgery! This trap card changes all monsters on the field into the monster-type of my choice, and I choose insect-type!"

Yugi gasped as Beta the Magnet Warrior turned into an insect version of himself.

"Although Beta now gains more attack power from the field power bonus," Weevil said. "My Insect Barrier is still in effect, which means, you can't attack me with any of your monsters!"'

Atem chuckles from the sideline, thinking that this move was a pretty good move on Weevil's part, but he knows Yugi will still beat him.

"I place two cards face-down and end my turn." Yugi said, laying two cards in the Spell/Trap card zone.

"My move!" declared Weevil, pulling a card from his Deck. "Ah, just what I needed!" he said gleefully as Yugi looked solemn, preparing for the worst. "I equip my Petti Moth with the Cocoon of Evolution!" He played the card, encasing his moth in big cocoon. "I switch my cocoon to defense and then I summon Insect Knight!

A grasshopper-like monster with a sword and shield appeared on the field.

"Insect Knight, attack Beta the Magnet Warrior!" Weevil ordered.

**Insect Knight ATK**: 1900 - 2470

**Beta the Magnet Warrior ATK**: 1700 - 2040

"You've activated my trap card!" Yugi shouted, he turned over his Sakuretsu Armor Trap card "The Sakuretsu Armor Trap card destroys my opponent's attacking monster."

"Oh no! My beautiful knight is toast!" Weevil cried as his monster exploded from the field. "Grr, I place one card face down and end my turn."

**Weevil LP:** 765

"What happened to Weevil's Life Points? How did it drop down?" Téa asked.

"It's part of the Duelist Kingdom rules," Atem replied. "Whenever a monster is destroyed using a Spell, Trap or monster's effect, half of their attack power is deduced from the Duelist's Life Points.

"Alright, my move!" Yugi declared as he drew a card. "I set this monster in defense position," a second square on the field glowed next to the first set monster. "And I set a card face down and end my turn."

"My move!" Weevil said as he drew a card. "I pass this turn."

"Alright, then it's my move." Yugi draws a card. "Now I play the spell card, Cards Destruction!"

"And what does that do?" asked Weevil, though he thought he knew what it does, the image on the card indicated that one or both of them have to throw away some cards.

"First we discard our entire hand to the Graveyard." Yugi said, placing his three cards in the Graveyard pile, Weevil did the same. "And then we draw the same number of cards from our deck as we just threw away." Yugi and Weevil drew their cards from their Decks. _Just what I needed!_ "Now I reveal my face down monsters—!"

"Yugi, wait!" Atem called up to him from the sideline. "If you're doing what I think you're doing, then don't do it just yet, wait a little longer. If you do it now, Weevil will have plenty of time to work out a way to destroy it. Wait until you draw the card that I gave you and then do it."

Yugi stared down at Atem, their eyes met. And then, at the same time, both of them nodded in understanding. Then Yugi turned attention back to Weevil.

"On second thought, Weevil, I leave monsters hidden and end my turn." Yugi said.

"Atem, why did ya stopped him?" Joey asked. "He was about to do something ta squash dat insect and ya stopped him… Why?"

"Some things in Duel Monsters have to be done at the right moment." Atem explained. "On one hand, Yugi could summon a powerful monster to the field, destroy Insect Barrier if he could, and win the Duel by attacking Weevil's Cocoon. On the other hand, Weevil's face down card could be a trap card that will lay Yugi's effort to waste. He needs to wait for a better opening in order to make that move successful. Playing the right cards at the right time is the difference between victory and defeat."

"Oh, I see…" Joey said, and he began to worry about the possibility of losing his one Star Chip in his first Duel. _Maybe it was a bad idea to come here… NO! I can't think like dat, not now! I've gone too far to turn back now! My sister's countin' on me…._

"Heh-heh-heh-heh, my turn." Weevil said as he drew a card. "And then I place one card face down and end my turn."

_Great, more to worry about…_ Yugi thought as he frowned at the field. _But if I can just draw that card that my brother gave me just before we left home to come out here, I can turn this Duel around! _

**Flashback**

_Inside the Game Shop, Atem and Yugi were standing across from each other over the counter, Yugi's cards spread out between them._

"_No, this Deck will not do, Yugi." Atem said, picking up Celtic Guardian and exchanging it for a spare Obnoxious Celtic Guard that he had._

"_But it's Grandpa's Deck!" Yugi protested._

"_I know that, Yugi, all the more reasons not to use this Deck" Atem said. "It's honorable that you want to use this Deck in honor of Grandpa, but using another Duelist's Deck can be a disadvantage. You don't know that Deck as well as the owner did. You need a Deck that suits you and your style, even your personality."_

"_Yeah, okay. I see your point." Yugi said. "But what I can use?"_

"_Well, you've always liked toys and puzzles," Atem said. "Maybe you could build a Deck similar to that side of your personality. Here," he took Winged Dragon Guardian of the Fortress, Beaver Warrior and Silver Fang out and laid them to the side. "Instead of these three monsters, how about using these?" and he held up the Magnet Warrior trio. "Alpha, Gamma and Beta the Magnet Warriors, they combine to make a single powerful monster—like your Transformers figures."_

"_Really?" Yugi asked, looking amazed as he accepted these cards from Atem. "Wow… I'm definitely using these!"_

_They continued exchanging cards in Yugi's Deck until it no longer look like Grandpa's._

"_One more thing, Yugi," Atem said, holding out two cards. "These could be helpful in a tight spot. Use them wisely."_

_Yugi took the cards and gazed at them in wonder._

**End of Flashback. **

"Alright, it's my move!" Yugi said, he drew a card that turned out to be Valkyrion the Magna Warrior. _This is it, one of the cards Atem gave me! But now's not the right time to play it. _"I pass this turn, Weevil."

"Heh-heh-heh-heh, as you wish." Weevil smiled nastily as he drew his card. "Winning this Duel and taking your Deck is going to be easier than I thought. And it's just as well, you have a few cards I've had my eye on. Now I summon the Desert Protector in attack position and end my turn."

A red insect with four legs appeared on the field

**Desert Protector ATK: ** 800 - 1040

_Battling insects on their turf is very tricky—especially with the combo that Weevil played. But I know I can do it. _Yugi thought with determination as he drew his card—Red Gadget. _Still not the card that I need._

"I pass this turn."

"It's not lookin' so good," Joey said grimly.

"You've said it, Joey," said a sassy voice. They turned to see Mai Valentine standing there. "Weevil's Cocoon of Evolution combo is untouchable while Yugi's a sitting duck."

"Hey," said Téa, a vein of annoyance appearing on her forehead. "Yugi's just buying his time and then he'll crush Weevil and kick him out of the tournament."

"You're clueless," Mai said. "No one has ever beaten the Cocoon of Evolution combo, and Yugi can't even touch Weevil's monsters with that Insect Barrier in play. Face it, the kid's done."

"You're wrong!" Téa declared. "Yugi will find a way to overcome it!"

"You as naïve as ever," Mai said.

"You're wrong, Mai," Atem spoke, startling her. "I know it looks hopeless right now, but my brother has cards in his Deck that can turn this Duel into his favor. Wait and see."

"Oh, okay…" Mai said uncertainly, she has trouble doubting Atem's words; after all, he was an expert Duelist who defeated Kaiba. She decided to stick around and see which one of these twerps get their butt kicked first.

"I set one card face-down and end my turn." Yugi said, it was then that he noticed Desert Protector's attack points: 1640. "Whoa! How did Desert Protector gained _THAT _much power?" he asked, scanning the card info on the screen.

"Heh-heh-heh, my Protector gains three hundred attack points for every spell and trap card on the field!" Weevil said gloatingly. "Alright, it's my turn!" he drew a card. "And I pass."

"Another pass? What's he waitin' for?" Joey asked.

"He's trying to pass up enough turns for that Cocoon to create Perfectly Ultimate Great Moth." Atem said. "It's one of the most powerful monsters in the game, but the summoning process takes too much time and efforts, that's why he's got Insect Barrier and DNA Surgery, with that card combination, he made himself untouchable for attacks."

"My move, I draw!" Yugi declared as he drew his card. "Since you've made yourself untouchable, let me show you my way of becoming untouchable! I reveal my face-down monster! Say hello to Marshmallon!"

A marshmallow-like monster appeared on the field in defense position.

"And I play this Spell card, Marshmallon Glasses!" Yugi played the said Spell card.

"What does that do?" Weevil asked, looking irritated.

"As long as I have Marshmallon on the field, you can't target any of my other monsters for an attack." Yugi explained.

"And how does that make you untouchable?"

"Because, Marshmallon can't be destroyed in battle." Yugi said with a smile. "That's all for now, your move."

Atem nodded approvingly. _Yes, now he can build up his attack force without losing defensive power. That move was very well done. _

A few turns later…

"Now, I tribute my Concoon and summon PERFECTLY ULTIMATE GREAT MOTH! HA, HA, HA! You're doomed now, little Yugi." Weevil said happily.

But Yugi just smiled. "Weevil, you're wrong."

"WHAT?!" cried Weevil. "What are you blabbering about?"

"I've had all these turns you required to summon that monster to prepare for it." Yugi said. "Now it's my turn." he said, drawing his card. "First, I play this: Heavy Storm!"

Weevil's eyes widened in horror. "No! Noooo!" he cried as his and Yugi's Spell and Trap cards were swept from the field.

"Now, I reveal my other two face-down monsters." Yugi said, turning them over, revealing Alpha and Gamma the Magnet Warriors! "And now, I tribute them with Beta and summon… Valkyrion the Magna Warrior!"

The three monsters split apart and reassembled into a single magnet monster.

"What good would that do you? My Moth is stronger because of field power bonus!" Weevil said. "You've wasted a powerful monster there!"

Ignoring Weevil, Yugi played two cards face-down in the Spell/Trap card zone and said. "I end my turn."

"My move! And this is where it all ends!" Weevil declared after drawing a card. "Perfectly Ultimate Great Moth, attack Valkyrion!"

Yugi smiled. "Weevil, you've fell right into my trap!"

"WHAT?!" Weevil exclaimed. "Oh no! I forgot about his face-down cards!"

"Reveal Quick-play Spell card: Rush Recklessly!" Yugi said, turning the card face-up. "It's a fitting name for this situation, since you '_rushed' _so '_recklessly' _to attack my Valkyrion!"

Atem chuckled at his brother's wits and Weevil's obvious despair.

"Now my Valkyrion gained an additional eight hundred attack points!" Yugi said. "Now, Valkyrion, counterattack!"

"No way…." murmured Mai, watching the Duel with wide eyes. "He completely turned this around, just as the Pharaoh said!"

**Valkyrion the Magna Warrior ATK:** 3500 - 4300

**Perfectly Ultimate Great Moth: ATK** 3500 - 4550

"Heh-heh-heh, no matter, my Great Moth is still stronger!" Weevil chuckled.

Yugi smiled. "I wouldn't be so sure, Weevil." he then turned over his other face-down. "Reveal Trap card, Rising Energy!"

"What?! NO!" cried Weevil in panic.

"All I have to do is discard one card from my hand to my graveyard…" Yugi said, placing Yellow Gadget on top of the Graveyard pile. "...and my Valkyrion gains fifteen-hundred attack points during this battle phase!"

"NO! NOOOO!" cried Weevil.

**Valkyrion the Magna Warrior ATK: **5800

**Perfectly Ultimate Great Moth: ATK: **4550

Weevil cringed as Valkyrion batted away the Great Moth's attack and struck back! He slashed the giant moth straight down the middle and the so-called "Perfectly Ultimate Great Moth" exploded, taking the remainder of Weevil's life points with it.

Joey. Tristan and Téa cheered, Atem smiled approvingly while Mai looked on in shock, she couldn't believe that Yugi defeated Weevil Underwood! But the numbers don't lie, and Weevil's number is zero, making Yugi the winner!

"Unbelievable…" she murmured.

"Well, I've won, now give me your Star Chips!" Yugi said happily, meeting Weevil on the ground.

"Who would've thought that the first one to be sent home would be the All-American Champion." Atem observed as Yugi received his two Star Chip.

"You're a dueling disgrace!" Joey said to Weevil in disgust. And he took Weevil's Dueling glove. "I'll relieve him of his Dueling glove for my own use!"

Yugi inserted his two new Star Chips into his Dueling glove. "I now have three Chips, just seven more to go and I'll gain entry into Pegasus' castle!

"That's right!" Atem said. "Yugi, you're going to be just fine in this tournament. I'll leave you with Joey and the others. I'm going to go on my own for awhile. I'll see you at the castle."

"Wait, what?" Yugi said blankly.

But before anyone could call him back, Atem disappeared into the forest.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong>

**Hope you've enjoyed this episode! Joey vs Mai is next! Where did Atem go? To find out, stay tuned for the next episode!**


	5. Episode 5: Joey vs Mai

**Yu-Gi-Oh! The Bonds of Brotherhood**

**Theme Song: One Card Short**

_Life's just a game. We all wanna win._

_Keep your hand a secret, unleash the monsters within!_

_Sometimes it's over before it's even begun._

_If someone else gets hurt then, what have you really won?_

_I'm always one card short, always one day late!_

_For once I'd like an ending I can celebrate._

_Stacked the deck myself, so there's no one else to blame._

_I need just one more move, one final chance to prove_

_I can win this game._

_Life's just a duel, that's how the world is made._

_But are we really players, or are we being played?_

_I'm always one card short, always one day late!_

_For once I'd like an ending I can celebrate._

_Stacked the deck myself, so there's no one else to blame._

_I need just one more move, one final chance to prove_

_I can win this game._

_One card short, one day late!_

_Give me somethin', somethin' to celebrate!_

_Stacked the deck myself so there's no one else to blame._

_One more move I'm gonna win this game._

_I'm gonna win this game._

_I'm gonna win this game!_

_One more move, I win this game._

* * *

><p><strong>Episode Five: Joey vs. Mai<strong>

* * *

><p>In the dining hall of Pegasus' castle, Pegasus was seated at the end of his elegant dining table, surveying his ornate pocket watch.<p>

"Two hours has past since the tournament begun," he said as he closed his watch with _click_. "Pharaoh-boy, Yugi-boy, will you two be able to battle your way into my castle?"

Elsewhere on the island…

"Ate-Pharaoh?! Pharaoh?! Where are you?" Yugi called as he and gang ran through the forest toward the mainland. Then he stopped and looked around. "Where did he go?"

"That's what I'm wonderin'," said Joey, panting as he stopped beside Yugi. "What made him run off like that?"

"I don't know," Yugi said, looking like a lost puppy without his big brother around. "But I do hope we'll find him again."

"We will," said Tristan. "In the meantime, you and Joey should focus on getting more Star Chips."

"That's right," Téa said encouragingly. "I'm sure At-" she caught herself just in time. "I'm sure the Pharaoh will be just fine. He probably felt he could keep his identity a secret better if he separated himself from us, at least until the Finals."

"You have a point there, Téa…" Yugi said, he sighed. "Well, I guess we'll have to move on without him for awhile, in the meantime, like Tristan said, we should focus on winning more Star Chips!"

Joey put an arm around Yugi. "That's right, pal! We'll surprise the Pharaoh with our ten Star Chips."

"Aren't you getting ahead of yourself, Joey?" Téa asked with a bored face.

"Yeah," Tristan added. "This is not gonna be that easy."

"Quiet!" Joey said, annoyed. "Don't forget, the Pharaoh trained me!"

"Yep!" Yugi said, nodding. "And the time has come to put the Pharaoh's teachings to the test!"

As they approach the seaside, Joey punched a fist into his palm.

"All right, now it's my turn!" he said. "I'll take on the next Duelist we meet!"

As Joey ran up ahead of the others, Téa said: "I'm not so sure Joey's up for this…"

"I agree," Tristan said. "Only the strongest Duelists are this island."

Joey stopped at the edge of the cliff, looking down at a beautiful scenery of the ocean and the beach below. He turned and waved at the others to come over.

"All right! Check this out, guys," he called. "The view's great!"

Téa, Tristan and Yugi all let out a sigh of exasperation as their friend is taking time out to enjoy the view!

"Nothing worries that guy," Téa said.

"What does he think this is, a trip?" Tristan said.

"This is great," Joey murmured, looking out at the beautiful view before him.

"Joey, I want to see the ocean," young Serenity said inside his head.

"I'll take you there," he heard his younger self reply.

* * *

><p><strong>Flashback<strong>

_A bus pulled in at a bus stop and Little Joey and Little Serenity got off the bus at a remote hillside stop. _

"_But Joey, won't Mom be mad at us?" Little Serenity asked her brother. _

"_Just let me worry about that," Little Joey said._

_Little Serenity nodded happily in agreement and then Little Joey led his little sister down the road and onto the beach._

_She looked around at the beach, at the ocean waters and the lighthouse in the distance._

"_Oh, Joey, it's so pretty!' she sighed happily._

"_So cold!" Little Joey exclaimed._

_She looked sideways at him and saw him sitting barefoot on the sand. As she watched, a wave washed over Little Joey, who cringed in reaction to the cold and hastily scrambled away from the water. Little Serenity laughed as her brother lay panting on the sand with his shoes in his hands._

_Later, the two of them were building a sandcastle in the glow of the setting sun, with the water sparkling in the reflection of the sun, its' color was now a ruby red instead of blue. _

"_Aren't ya glad we came?" Little Joey asked. "Let's come here again sometime."_

"_But…" Little Serenity started._

"_Don't worry," Little Joey said, patting the side of the sandcastle as he spoke. "Even if Mom and Dad do get a divorce and we have to live apart, I'll still bring ya back here."_

_Little Serenity smiled happily as she reached out to Little Joey with her pinky sticking out. "You promise?"_

_Little Joey linked his pinky with hers and said: "Yeah, I promise."_

**End of Flashback.**

* * *

><p>Joey stared out into the horizon, thinking: "Your big brother will keep his promise. I will show you that beautiful ocean once more.. I promise."<p>

The gang were grouped around Joey, looking out at the beautiful scenery until Téa looked to the side.

"Look," she said, pointing.

The guys looked to where she was pointing and saw Dueling arenas everywhere below the cliff they were standing on.

"Whoa. Excellent" Tristan said, standing up. "Over there. And there, too!"

"It looks like everyone's started Dueling." Yugi said with a smile.

"So will I!" Joey stated.

"You'd better start off by finding the weakest Duelist you can." Tristan advised Joey.

"That's right," Téa agreed.

Poor Joey promptly fell down at their lack of faith in him.

"Joey, you'd better be careful about _where _you choose to Duel, too." Yugi advised him.

Joey stood up, smiling at Yugi's helpful advice. "Because different fields will give my monsters advantages or disadvantages. Right, Yugi?"

"Right," Yugi said, looking off to the side, hoping to spot Atem down there, Dueling, but he was disappointed that he didn't see him anywhere. "I guess we're all starting to get used to the rules on this island." '_Atem, where are you?'_

"What field is best for you, Joey?" Téa asked.

Joey took out his deck and looked at it. "I guess since most of my cards are Warrior and Beast-type, a grassy field would be ideal. I guess that makes this region my turf."

"Then you'd better not stray too far from this area." Yugi said.

A loud, sassy voice rang out. "Hey, put your Star Chips down and get going!"

The gang turned in the direction of the voice.

"A voice that loud could only belong to Mai." Téa said in annoyance.

Mai and a boy stood in front of Duel Arena Ten, with Mai laughing gloatingly at her victory.

"You've got to tell me how you knew which card was which when they were still face-down!" the boy demanded.

"Sorry, it's….a….secret," Mai said, winking at him.

The boy walked away in tears while Mai continues to laugh. She then caught sight of the gang.

"I can't believe it." Joey said, "She has four Chips!"

Mai's eyes flashed

"Hey," she said, coming right up to them. "Are your Duels going well for you, Yugi?" she asked, oblivious to Téa's stiffness and annoyance.

"I guess so," Yugi said pleasantly.

Mai took Yugi's hand, causing Téa to fume at her. "So, you have three Star Chips, do you, Yugi? I might be up for a Duel myself."

Téa put her growling face over Yugi's shoulder, causing Yugi to cringe as she whispered: "Hey, Yugi. Make sure she remembers this butt-whooping."

"Hm. Okay, now I'm sure I want to Duel you." Mai said. "And 'you' refers to… Joey!" she added, pointing at Joey.

Joey was shocked. "Huh? With me?" he said, pointing at himself.

"You're not going to run, are you?" Mai asked.

Joey hooked up an expression of confident. "Ha! I expected the challenge."

"Don't misunderstand me," Mai said. "As a Duelist, of course I want to battle Yugi, the brother of the awesome Pharaoh. But I can't go losing my Star Chips and getting kicked out. So first I'll beat all the weakest Duelist and win their Star Chips, then I'll battle against Yugi. Then after I beat Yugi, the Pharaoh is next!"

"You know who you're talking to? I'm the student of that awesome Pharaoh!" Joey said proudly.

"The student who only made it to the top eight in the regionals..." Téa reminded him, causing him to cringe at the reminder. "There's no way you can beat that girl."

"Don't you get it?" Tristan said. "If you lose even once, it's all over!"

"Yugi, why don't you stand up for Joey and fight in his place?" Téa suggested to Yugi.

Yugi looked at Mai, then at Joey, who stood shaking and growling.

"Joey, you've got to do it!" he said encouragingly.

Joey looked happier now. "Yugi, I expected you to say that!"

"Yugi!" Téa protested.

"You can't be serious, Joey" Tristan said.

"But I am. Quite serious." Joey said seriously. "If I don't, then from now on, everytime I see beautiful mountains like this, or a beautiful horizon. Everytime I see beautiful scenery like we're seeing here, it would only remind me that I was a coward, that I ran away!"

"Yeah… I got you." Tristan said understandingly. "Sorry about that, Joey."

"Well if you're going to do it, then you'd better learn." Téa said.

Turning to Mai, Joey said: "I will accept your Duel."

"Well, good for you, then." she said.

They took their places in their respective platforms on opposite sides of the arena.

"Put up a fight, Joey!" Téa called from the sideline.

"Don't give in!" Tristan said.

"Yeah!" Joey said, striking up a courageous pose.

"Good luck, Joey." Yugi murmured.

"You only have one Star Chip, don't you, kid?" Mai said, removing one Star Chip from her Dueling glove and holding it up. "Then I'll just bet one of my Chips as well."

'_If I lose this Star Chip, it's all over.' _Joey thought. He glanced at the Dueling field and freaked out at seeing mountains on his field. "Oh no! What field is this?!"

"The field that you and I are going to battle on today is forty percent grassland, forty percent mountain and the last twenty percent is wilderness." Mai explained.

"Calm down, Joey!" Yugi called from the sideline. "You'll be okay. Your monsters will still have an advantage from the wilderness part of the field."

"Uh…" Joey said. "Hey Mai. I wanna ask you one thing before we start our Duel."

"Huh, what?" said Mai, a little distracted.

"So, what was your purpose for coming to this island? For glory? Or maybe for riches?"

"For both," Mai said seriously, and then unable to help herself, she added excitedly: "If I won the prize money, I'd travel around the world, buy an apartment in France and all the designer clothes I could find! I'm so excited I can't stand it!"

"Oh, I see. How pitiful." Joey said.

This did not sit well with Mai; she suddenly looked mad with a bloodvein pulsing on her forehead

"What makes you so high and mighty?" she asked angrily. "What's _your _great purpose for being here, huh?"

"I have something I want to protect," Joey said solemnly. "Something that I have to protect, even if it means my life."

"Both your differences in goals will come out in the match." Yugi said.

"Let's Duel!" Joey and Mai called out together.

**Mai LP:** 2000

**Joey LP: **2000

Joey looked at his starting hand.

"I'll lead with Masaki the Legendary Swordsman." Joey called out as he summoned his monster to the field. "The Field Power Source will bring his power up."

**Masaki the Legendary Swordsman: ATK:** 1100 to 1430

"And I'll lay this, face-down." he said, laying a card face-down in the Spell/Trap card zone. "Alright now, your go."

Mai smirked and then closed her eyes, while laying her cards face-down.

"Huh?" Joey and the gang said.

Mai wiggled her fingers over her cards, still with her eyes closed.

"Not gonna look at 'em?" Joey said in surprise.

"It's very simple," Mai said. "You see, I already know what all the cards are."

"Huh? No way!" Joey said in shock.

'_What did she say?'_ Yugi wondered.

"Here I go, my card is…." Mai said, moving a finger across the cards. Then she opened her eyes and called out: "Harpie Lady." she summon her monster. "She's suited for the mountain field, so she powers up."

**Harpie Lady: ATK: **1300 to 1690

"Okay then, GO!" Joey called out, causing Masaki to charge at Harpie Lady.

"Wait a minute, Joey!" Yugi called out. "Harpie Lady has the ability to fly!"

Masaki slashed at Harpie Lady with his sword, but Harpie Lady had taken flight to avoid the attack.

"Monsters capable of flight exhibits magical resistance against those that can't." Yugi explained.

"What do you mean?" asked Téa

"Thanks to the rules of this tournament, battles are much more realistic." Yugi said. "And Masaki's attack and defense power will return to eleven hundred."

Harpie Lady drew back her claws, preparing to slash Masaki.

"Hold on, Mai," Joey said. "I activate my Trap card!'

"Huh, no way!" Mai said in surprise as Joey revealed his trap card to be Kunai with Chain.

"Masaki now gains a five-hundred attack point boost!" Joey said.

**Masaki the Legendary Swordsman ATK: **1600 vs. **Harpie Lady ATK:** 1630.

Harpie Lady slashed Masaki, destroying him.

**Joey LP: **1970

**Mai LP: **2000

Mai smirked. "Impressive, kid. You used Kunai with Chain to reduce your damages. Looks like the Pharaoh taught you well. Now to end my turn, I'll choose this lovely card and place it face down. It's your turn, kid."

"She's still not looking!" Joey said. "It's my move, I draw!" he drew one card from his deck. "All right! I summon Goblin Attack Force!"

**Goblin Attack Force ATK:** 2300 to 2630

"Attack!" Joey shouted.

"Joey, wait, watch out for Mai's face-down card!"

"Too late, kid," Mai grinned. "I activate my trap card, Mirror Wall!"

A wall of glass rose up and protected Harpie Lady while the group of goblins whacked away at the wall with their clubs, some of the goblins' club broke in half.

"Eeeh! My goblins can't get to her." Joey panicked.

"It's worse than that, kid." Mai said. "It cuts your monster's attack points in half!"

"What? Oh no!"

**Goblin Attack Force ATK**: 1315 vs. **Harpie Lady ATK:** 1630

Harpie Lady slashed the goblins with her claws, destroying them.

**Joey LP**: 1660

**Mai LP**: 2000

"Oh, Joey…" Téa said.

"I guess Joey doesn't have a chance after all." Tristan said.

"Joey, don't let her little card trick deceive you," Yugi called up to him.

"It's my turn, kid, here I come." Mai drew her card and without looking at it, laid face-down outside the Dueling Mat. "Now, since Mirror Wall costs two thousand Life Points to keep it on the field, I'm afraid I'll have to get rid of it." she said sadly as she moved Mirror Wall to the Graveyard pile. "Now I'll equip my Harpie Lady with this." she held up the card to show Cyber Shield. "It raises my Harpie Lady's attack points by five hundred. That's all for now. Your turn, kid."

'_How can she read the cards when they're still laying face-down?' _Joey wondered.

'_Ha, ha, my little card trick has made this kid forget everything. He's lost.' _Mai thought. '_This Duel is mine already.'_

Joey drew a card and stared at Harpie Lady, now wearing an armored breastplate. Then looked down at his hand and picked one to play.

"I summon Axe Raider!" Joey said as Axe Raider appeared on the field, with his attack points raising from seventeen hundred to twenty-two hundred and ten. "Attack!" Joey shouted to his monster

**Axe Raider ATK:** 2210 vs. **Harpie Lady ATK**: 2190

"Joey! Did you forget? Axe Raider is at a disadvantage against Harpie Lady!" Yugi shouted from the sideline.

Joey looked shocked at his mistake. "Oh no!"

"Oh yes" Mai said triumphantly. "Axe Raider is another earth-base monster. Harpie, counterattack!"

**Harpie Lady ATK:** 2190 vs. **Axe Raider ATK:** 1700.

Harpie Lady slashed Axe Raider with her claws, destroying him.

**Joey LP:** 1170

**Mai LP:** 2000

"I'll place this card face-down and end my turn." Mai said, again placing a card on the field without looking at it.

"It's my turn, I draw!" Joey announced, drawing a card from the Draw Phase. "I place a monster face-down in defense position. And then, I place this card face-down." he said, setting a card in his Spell/Trap card zone. "I end my turn."

"It's my move, here we go." Mai said, drawing her card on her Draw Phase. "Now I summon Harpie's Pet Dragon!"

A dragon appeared on the field with a collar around its' neck. A golden chain was attached to the collar and the other end of the chain was held in the claws of Harpie Lady.

"First, my dragon gains from the mountain field power bonus." Mai said. "Then he gains three hundred more for every Harpie Lady I have on the field.

Harpie's Pet Dragon let out a deafening roar towards Joey as its' attack points reading showed up.

**Harpie's Pet Dragon ATK: **2900

Yugi, Tristan and Téa gasped at the power reading of Mai's dragon.

"Joey…" Yugi whispered.

"Ha-ha! I activate my Trap card: Trap Hole!" Joey said gleefully, turning over his face-down card. "Now your dragon is destroyed!"

"W-What? No!" Mai cried as her dragon disappeared through a hole in the ground.

Yugi and the gang cheered on Joey for this good move.

**Joey's LP:** 1170

**Mai LP:** 550

"Look, Mai's Life Points went down," Téa said, pointing at Mai's Life Point display. "How come?"

"It's the Duelist Kingdom rules," Yugi explained. "Whenever a monster is destroyed by the effect of a Spell card, Trap card or a monster's effect, half of that monster's attack points are deduced from card owner's Life Points.

Mai growled angrily. "Harpie, attack his defending monster!" she ordered.

Harpie Lady soared down and struck the ground with her clawed foot, revealing Joey's monster to be Swordsman of Landstar.

"Swordsman of Landstar…" Joey called out to his defeated monster.

Mai laughed. "How do you like that? See, kid, you're nothing more than an appetizer."

"How can she read those cards?" Joey asked, still trying to figure out Mai's trick. "Does this girl has ESP or something like that?"

"Settle down, Joey, don't get pulled in. They're only stupid card tricks!" Yugi urged him.

"You can do it, Joey!" Téa said. "Don't let a girl like that beat you!"

Annoyed, Mai pointed at Joey's friends. "Hey, you there!" she said, getting their attention. "Didn't I hear you say that your hearts are connected, that your feelings reach the person Dueling? Then let's see you use that heart to make him win. Show me what your feelings can do for a weak kid like him. "

"What?" Téa said.

"Do you understand, then? Your feelings don't mean a thing," Mai said, she turned to Joey. "And let this be a lesson to you, kid. As long as you're muttering about friendship and feelings, you'll never become a True Duelist. Your friend today might become an enemy tomorrow. That's what Dueling's all about. The only person a Duelist can trust is herself. So let this defeat of yours today be lesson to you, kid."

Joey growled in frustration, knowing that by now, the Harpie Lady's attack points has gone beyond the attack points of most of the monsters in his Deck.

"That girl…." Tristan growled.

"I can't stand it, I just can't stand it!" Téa said angrily.

"Show her up, Joey!" called a familiar voice

Joey blinked. He looked to his left and saw his three friends standing there. he looked to his right and saw….

"Pharaoh!" Joey cried happily. "How long have you been standin' there?"

Atem stood on top of a mound of earth with his arms crossed above his Millennium Puzzle.

"Joey, one little phrase holds the key to your victory," Atem said. "Listen closely to the phrase you're about to hear me say: That which is seen and cannot be seen."

"That which is seen but can't be seen?" Joey said, feeling a little discouraged.

Mai looked curiously in Atem's direction and then let out a laugh: "Ha-ha-ha, how is a nonsense phrase like that is going to help this kid win?" She turned back to Joey. "I'm interested. Just show me exactly what you can do."

"I understand what you're saying, but…" Joey said.

* * *

><p><strong>Flashback:<br>**  
><em>Joey and Yugi sat side-by-side on the school roof with Atem standing beside them as Joey said: "It's friendship! Anyone can see that you and I are friends, but friendship itself obviously cannot be seen!"<em>

**End of Flashbac**k.

* * *

><p>"But Pharaoh, I'm don't think that's enough to help me win this one." Joey said sadly<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Flashback: <strong>

_Serenity's face smiling sadly on the TV screen, saying: "I'm just so sad that I can't see my big brother's face. I just wanted to see my big brother's face."_

**End of Flashbac**k.

* * *

><p>"Serenity, you deserve a better big brother," Joey said sadly. "Now I won't be able to help you. To save your eyes. DARN IT!" he growled in frustration with his teary eyes shut tight.<p>

He was alone in the darkness, standing unsupported in mid-air as though he was standing on a invisible floor with his hands on an invisible table. His body was slowly turning on the spot.

'_When you can't see anymore, is the whole world dark like this?'_ he thought '_I don't wanna send you to a world like this. Huh?' _he sniffed at the air, having detected a strange smell. '_What's that strange smell?' _The smell was growing stronger the longer he breathed, and then he detected a bunch of different smells. '_I never noticed that smell when my eyes were open. I'm smellin' a bunch o' different perfumes. Hmm…' _

"So kid, it's your turn." Mai's voice sounded in his ears.

"That's it," Joey said, opening his eyes. "I've seen through your card trick."

"Huh?" Mai said in surprise.

"You've sprayed all the cards with different perfumes," Joey said, smiling confidently. "And by smelling each different scent, you can tell which card is which, even face-down." Mai looked even more surprised as Joey continues: "You can sense the card's scent. That which is seen and yet unseen."

"No way!" Mai cried in disbelief. "How could an amature kid like him see through my aroma strategy? Impossible!"

"Your trick had me fooled long before the Duel even began," Joey admitted. "I was sure you had some occult trick up your sleeve. But I won't be fooled by you anymore! You're just a common cheater!"

"Way to go, Joey!" Atem cheered.

"Yay, Joey!" cried Téa happily.

"Yeah!" Tristan said.

"Good job, Joey, I knew you could do it." Yugi said, then he looked around the arena to get a glimpse of Atem and was not disappointed. He could see his older brother standing there, watching Joey's Duel.

"Thank you, Pharaoh." Joey said gratefully.

But Mai was not at all pleased. "Just because you saw through one of my tricks, doesn't mean you can beat me in a Duel!"

"It's funny when you think about it," Joey said. "With my friends here to help me, you aren't such a formidable opponent after all. But I guess that would be a foreign idea to you, huh, Mai?"

"Hmpt! You may have destroyed my dragon, but my Harpie will only get more beautiful and more powerful with each turn!" Mai declared. "How are you going to defeat her? Do you even have a powerful monster in that deck of yours? If not, then you've lost already."

"My turn, I draw!" Joey said, drawing one card on the Draw Phase. "Go! My card is Baby Dragon!"

A cute and adorable little orange dragon appeared on the field in defense position.

**Baby Dragon DEF:** 700.

"Ha, ha!" Mai laughed. "What? A wimpy card like that? Even if I do obliterate that card, it will hardly make a dent in your Life Points." then she held up a Spell card. "My card will be Elegant Egotist, now I can tribute my Harpie Lady and summon the Harpie Lady Sisters!" Harpie Lady vanished to be replaced with three Harpie Ladies.

"What?" Joey gasped in panic.

"Harpie Lady One, Two, Three."

"Now what?" Téa said. "He was struggling against one!"

"Don't worry, you still have all kinds of moves left!" Tristan called up to Joey.

"Really? What moves?" Téa asked.

"Don't ask an amature like me, ask Yugi." Tristan.

"But…" Yugi looked over at Atem and saw that his brother was watching the Duel with focused eyes. Then he looked determined. "No, it's too early to say anything, it all depends on what Joey does in his next turn."

Joey growled in frustration as he stared at his cards in his hand. "Grr, but I don't have any cards that can beat the Harpie Ladies."

"Ha, this is a ten-cycle combination. Each turn, they get more beautiful and stronger too!" Mai said gloatingly. "Since I used Elegant Egotist, I can't attack, so it's your move. Go. But it won't do you much good anyway."

"I can't win. This really is the end!" Joey said in despair.

"Don't give up, Joey!" Atem called up to him. "I didn't train you at Duel Monsters so you could give up so easily. Now think hard about her Dueling strategy. She's been strengthening one monster on the field with scores of Spell cards. But her strategy has one very serious weakness."

"A serious weakness?" Joey said, and then it hit him! "That's it! If she has to use scores of Spell cards, that must mean the Harpie Lady is the only monster left in her Deck! If I can just defeat her Harpies, she won't have any moves left to make!"

"That's right, Joey." Atem said encouragingly.

Across the arena from Atem, Yugi let out a gasp. "Joey! Remember what the Pharaoh said before? It's what is seen and yet cannot be seen. Remember the boat ride, Joey!"

"Can and then cannot be seen?" Joey repeated. "Wait a minute…."

* * *

><p><strong>Flashback to the dining room in the Duelist Kingdom crewship. <strong>

_Joey fanned out his new cards and show them to Yugi._

"_Salamandra, Kunai with Chain, Baby Dragon and Shield and Sword!" Yugi said, happy for his friend's new cards. "Great! If you can get your hands on those Spell cards, you'll have many more options!"_

"_Got it!" Joey said proudly._

"_Oh yeah," Yugi said, opening the Millennium Puzzle box and extracting a card from within, he handed it to Joey. "Use this too, it might come in handy sometime."_

**End of Flashback.**

* * *

><p>"That's right, I remember." Joey said as he thought of the Millennium Puzzle box. "Yugi took it from the Millennium Puzzle box. The riddle of the Millennium Puzzle was also that which can be seen and yet is unseen. Yugi could only mean Time Wizard!"<p>

"What are you mumbling about?" Mai asked with a bored expression. "Throw your next card and be ready for defeat."

"Unfortunately, Time Wizard isn't in my hand." Joey said to himself. "I'll have to draw for it. Before she destroys my Baby Dragon." His hand shook as he reached for his deck. "Here goes

"Trust in your cards, Joey." Atem whispered.

"Trust in yourself." Yugi added his two cents

"Here I go. Come on…." Joey picked up a card from his deck and held it, then he opened his tightly shut eyes to see what he had drawn, and let out a cry of joy. "All right! It's the Time Wizard!"

A little round red alarm clock with eyes, hands and feet appeared on the field.

"Huh? Time Wizard?" Mai said in confusion.

"Don't you know?" Joey said with grin. "Time Wizard's effect allows me to call a coin toss, I get to call it heads or tails, if I call it right, all of your monsters are destroyed, but if I call it wrong, then it's adios Baby Dragon and Time Wizard."

"And then you lose the Duel." Mai added. "Are you sure you want to take a gamble like that?"

"At this point, I have no choice." Joey said. "Go coin toss!"

A giant holographic coin appeared in the center of the field with Pegasus' face for heads and an image of a phoenix for tails

"I call heads!" Joey shouted as the coin jumped off the field and flipped over in the air.

All of Joey's friends were watching intensely, hoping for the best while Joey put his hands together in prayer.

"Come on…. be right…."

Mai held up a fist, mentally urging the coin toss to be called wrong.

The coin landed on the ground with a loud bang and Joey slowly opened his eyes and saw the results.

Heads.

For a moment, Joey stared at the coin in stunned surprise.

"D-did that really happened?" Then he punched the air. "Yes! All right, it's heads!" he cried happily. "That means adios Harpie Ladies!"

"What? NOOO!" Mai cried as the Time Wizard raised his staff and Time Warped the Harpie Ladies. They first grew very old and then they fell down and turned into ashes, taking the remainder of Mai's Life Points with them.

Joey's friends all cheered.

"Way to go, Joey!" cried Téa.

"You the man, Joey!" yelled Tristan.

"That was great Dueling, Joey!" Yugi said happily.

"How could I lose to someone like him?" Mai asked, leaning over her platform.

"Mai." Joey said, and she looked up at him. "I may not be a Duelist among Duelists. But I will say this. Never forget that there are some things that will last even millennia. And those are things that can be seen and yet remain unseen." Joey glanced to the side and saw that Atem had vanished again! "What? Where did he go now?! Oh well, we'll see him later…"

"What? Not again!" Yugi cried, running around the arena, sure enough, Atem was gone. He sighed sadly. "Oh well," he turned to look up at Joey and thought: '_Joey, it was the difference between your goal and Mai's goal that led you to win this battle.' _

Joey stood proudly on his platform, holding up the V sign for victory while his friends laughed happily for his victory. Serenity's laughing face appeared in the clouds above him.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong>

**I hope you've enjoyed this episode. More is yet to come! I had some fun writing this. I hope I've made it fun to read as well. Til next time!**


End file.
